Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengance
by Creaturemaster
Summary: Takes place after Pahkitew Island. Welcome to the 7th season of Total Drama! Create your own OC and watch as they lie, cheat, love, befriend, and cause mayhem to win the million dollar prize! APPS are now closed! If you have an challenge ideas, please PM me!
1. Build, Seek and Obliertate

**And here's the first official episode of Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! Watch as your Ocs lie, cheat, fight, love, and scream their way to the million dollar prize! And don't worry; if your OC didn't make it in, your character will enter the competition at a later point in the game! My Ocs will be entering the game, so if you want to see their applications, look at my Profile page! APPS are now closed. I am ****_so _****sorry this took so long to make! I will try to update it every two weeks. Updates will be slower and less frequent towards the end of August and the beginning of the school year, but I have no desire to end this series until it's complete!**

The camera turns on to see Chris McClain standing on an old dock. Behind him is the island of Pahkitew from the last season. "Yo, I'm Chris McClain!" the host says with his trademark smile. "But you probably already knew that! I mean seriously, I'm famous! But enough about me. Lets talk about my new show! And what better way to start than by introducing the new group of vic – I mean _contestants_ that will battle their way for the right to claim the grand prize: ONE! MILLION! DOLLARS! And here they are now!" the host announced as a motorboat driven by a lowly intern pulled up to the docs. Inside the boat next to an intern sat a 23 year old woman with a light tan and black hair with pink highlights. She wore a red dress with a large, black, Chinese Dragon on the front and black heels. A skull necklace with emeralds in the eye sockets was looped around her neck as she climbed onto the dock.

"Meet our first contestant, Kiko the Chinese Uber-Fan!" Chris said with mock enthusiasm. Kiko glanced around the island before setting her green eyes on Chris. "OMG! I can't believe I'm here you!" Kiko squealed excitedly. Without warning she jumped at Chris and pulled him into a hug, revealing the fact that she finally got to meet her idol. Meanwhile, struggling to breath. "C-can't . . . breath!" he managed to gasp before Kiko let him go. The host dropped to the docks as the girl danced around excitedly before running to the other end of the dock, unable to keep her eyes off of Chris as he stood up again and straightened his hair.

"Um, welcome our next contestant, Caroline the Exiled Animal Lover!" Chris said in slight disgust as another motorboat pulled up. In it sat another girl with long, dark brown hair that went all the way down to her waist. An oversized sweatshirt sat on her shoulders, and a white tank top underneath. She wore a knee length, navy blue skirt with pockets and teal stockings with boots. "Do I really have to be here in front of the cameras?" she asked nervously. Chris gave a dead panned look. "Yes, you do. You signed up for it when you signed the contract!" Caroline sighed and moved to the end of the dock to stand next to Kiko, trying to stay out of sight. "Maybe I should call her Lindsay 2.0" he grumbled as another motorboat pulled up to the dock.

This one was carrying a boy with raven black hair and tanned skin. Surfer dressed boy climbed onto the dock and walked up to Chris, fist bumping him before joining the girls. "Our third contestant, Alex the Laid back Korean!" Chris announced. For once, he didn't hate this teen so much as the others he had been forced to work with. That however, would not save Alex from the horror Chris had in store for the cast. At least, once they all showed up.

"Our next contestant is Trey the Rock Star!" Chris said as another motorboat carrying a guy with a dark brown beard and shoulder length hair. He wore a white, stained T-shirt with the sleeves torn off, and a pair of jeans with the knees ripped out. A bass guitar was strapped to his back and a knife was being twirled around in his fingers. "Sup, dude?" Trey greeted Chris with a thumbs up. "This where we're stayin'?" Chris answered him with his trade mark grin. As Trey walked to the other end of the dock, frightening Caroline as he stood next to Kiko, another motorboat pulled up to the dock with a girl with a ponytail and a large scar over her left eye. The girl stepped up onto the docks and walked up to Chris. "Meet Maurananei the Female Bad Cop!" the host said. The girl glared at him and growled slightly. "You better watch your step, _Chris,_" Maurananei hissed, saying his name like a curse. "Because I _will _get you." Chris blinked and stepped back in fear as the red jacket clad teen stalked down to the opposite end of the docks. Everyone quickly side stepped out of her way. Maurananei gave them an odd look, but ignored the gesture. She watched as yet another motor boat pulled up to the dock, and a small boy hopped out and walked up to Chris.

"Reese the Prankster!" Chris said as Reese strolled down the dock toward the rest of the cast. "Nice to meet all of you." he said to them, grabbing their hands and shaking them. Then he got to Maurananei. "Hello, my dear. My name is Reese. A pleasure to meet you." he said, extending his hand to her. Maurananei looked at it suspiciously, but eventually took it. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity shot through her! "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGH!" she cried as Reese and Chris laughed. The course of electricity suddenly stopped, leaving Maurananei's ponytail looking like a fried broom.

"I am going to get you if it's the last thing I do." she gasped as trails of smoke curled off her charred body. Reese smiled nervously and stood next to the others, away from Maurananei.

"Ahhhhh," Chris sighed as he wiped a tear of joy from his eye. "Our next contestant is . . . . what the heck is that?" Chris asked as the motor boat pulled up to the dock with a black cloaked figure sitting in the back. The small figure stepped out onto the dock, the only thing visible being their ruby red eyes. The sky darkened as thunder rolled and lightning cracked the sky. "Ah, thunder storms. How I love them." the figure said in a feminine voice. The girl flipped up her hood revealing a pale skinned face and a head of raven black hair. "Name's Mortisha Adams, but you can call me 'AAHHH!' if you want. That's what everyone calls me." the girl said, saying the last part sadly. "Um, yeah. Whatever." Chris said as the cloaked girl moved to the end of the dock. Maurananei edged away from her to stand with the rest of the group, not one of them objecting.

Chris composed himself as another motor boat pulled up with a lowly intern at the helm. "Where's Mitchell?" Chris asked the nervous intern. "You didn't lose him already, did you!?" The intern shook his head nervously and pointed skyward. Everyone followed to where he was pointing and saw a figure flying through the air above. "What the- is that guy using my jet pack!?" Chris yelled angrily as the figure, revealing to be a boy with dark brown hair with caramel streaks, floated down toward the dock. What surprised – and shocked – everyone was the fact that bright, hot, flames were coming out of his hands as scorching temperatures. Chris stood shocked as the teen landed on the dock and walked to the opposite end of the dock. "What, you can't control fire?" Mitchell said nonchalantly. Everyone blinked before regaining themselves. "Wow! You can shoot fire out of your hands!?" Reese cried with excitement. "Yes. Yes I can." Mitchell said with no enthusiasm. "Seriously, it's not that big of a deal."

"Are you kidding! That's the coolest thing EVER!" Reese yelled as an 8th motor boat pulled up to the docks. A mocha skinned girl with chocolate colored hair and hazel colored eyes sat in the back and climbed up onto the docks. She adjusted her tan vest coat and olive green skirt before moving forward. "Meet Toni the Animal Nut!" Chris said as Toni walked past him. "I'm not that crazy." Toni shot back at him. "Whatever. Just get out my camera time, will ya?" Chris said with annoyance. Toni rolled her eyes and moved to stand next to Caroline and Kiko. Caroline smiled and Toni grinned back, her eyes flashing yellow. "Is something wrong with your eyes?" Caroline asked Toni. "No. Nothing's wrong with my eyes." Toni reassured her. Caroline looked closer, and saw hazel colored eyes instead.

Caroline shrugged and turned to see a guy suddenly appear on the dock. A black mohawk sprouted up from his head, and a black shirt with a skull with a dagger stuck in it was on him. He wore black arm guards and black jeans. "Meet Eduardo the EMO Child." Chris said with a smile as Eduardo stared at him. And stared at him. And stared at him some more. "Um, hello? Are you okay?" Chris asked as he waved a hand in front of Eduardo's face. Eduardo seemed to startle before saying "Whatever." and walking to the edge of the dock, looking at the rest of the cast with a bored look.

Chris ignored him and turned to see a girl with incredibly long hair tied in a ponytail that reached down to her calves. She wore dark blue skinny jeans and a black long sleeve shirt that hung off her right shoulder. Seven piercings lined both her ears along with feathered earrings. Several bracelets were around her wrists, and she wore two inch heels on her feet. "Meet Anuok the Psychic Loner." Chris said, rubbing his hands together mischievously. "So, what's my fortune!?" he asked her excitedly. Anuok raised an eyebrow, rolled her eyes and closed her them. After a minute she pulled out a notepad and scribbled down on it before handing it to an animated Chris. Chris quickly read it over before looking confused. "You will mashed before a fishy audience today?" Chris read. Anuok shrugged and tapped the pad at the bottom. "I can only see 24 hours into the future?" Chris read. "Whatever. This is bogus. Just go." Chris sighed, clearly disappointed. Anuok shrugged and walked down the dock and stood next to Reese and Mitchell.

"Hahhh, anyway. Our next contestant is Alan the Perverted Optimist!" Chris said as a short, thin, boy dressed in an orange hoodie and blue jeans. A large pair of glasses sat on his nose. "Hi, Chris! Nice to meet you!" Alan said as he vigorously shook the host's hand. "I can't wait to do some challenges!" Chris frowned and jerked his hand back. "Sure. Whatevs. Just go so I can get going ok?" Alan nodded happily and ran down the dock to greet the others. While Alan was distracted, Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie talkie. "Chef? If you can hear me, put a nest of fire ants into Alan's bed, will ya?"

Chris quickly put the device away just before a tall girl with long blonde and brown hair, pink glasses, and a pink dress. Basically, she wore a _lot _of pink. "Zelda the Pink Monger." Chris said as Zelda walked over to the rest of the cast. "Hey, guys! You ready?" she asked in excitement. "You bet!" Alan cried, giving Zelda a high five before Chris cleared his throat. "Now, we have one more contestant to greet before we begin your first challenge. He should be here any moment." Chris said as he shielded his eyes and looked toward the horizon. Not a single motor boat arrived at the docks. "Look! Down there!" Kiko yelled, pointing toward the water, which had begun to broil and bubble. Everyone screamed and yelled as a large, muscled figure rose from the water, covered in seaweed. The character was muscled, and covered in scales. A long antenna sprouted from his head with a small light at the end. It's jaws jutted forward, revealing wicked teeth that didn't even fit in the mouth, they were so big; large, glazed eyes that looked as if they belonged to a deep sea creature sat on either side of its face. The creature roared and climbed up onto the dock, towering over everyone, even Zelda.

"Oh, man! Sorry!" the creature said in a high pitched, garbled voice. "Give me a sec!" he said to the startled cast before reaching for a symbol on his chest and slapping down it. There was a flash of red light and the large fish man disappeared. In its place was a tall boy with lightly tanned skin,dark brown hair, and large muscles. He had blue eyes the color of the sea and wore a red and black shirt with black pants and sneakers. A shark tooth necklace was looped around his neck, and a mysterious watch with the same symbol as before on it. It was red and silver, with the symbol looking an open, red mouth with sharp silver teeth. A long, black tongue curled over the teeth in a deep snarl. "Sorry about that! It happens sometimes!"

Everyone but Mortisha stood in shock. Mortisha walked up to him and suddenly gave him a hug. The boy looked surprised, but returned the hug with little hesitation. "My name's Mortisha." she said as her face turned a deep red. "Micheal." the boy said, taking her hand and shaking it. Mortisha blushed even more and walked Micheal over to the rest of the cast.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I _might _like him. But can you blame me?" Mortisha says to the camera. "I've been alone for so long, I don't even know the definition of friend! Or _boyfriend_." she said, saying the last part with much pleasure.

_**End Confessional**_

"Okay, now that we've met Micheal the Watch Bearer, lets move on to our next challenge, shall we?" Chris said as he walked away. The cast followed him, stealing glances at Micheal as they moved along. Toni was looking at him the most, even though Mortisha was still holding Micheal's hand. They walked for a while before they reached a familiar clearing in the forest with a large pile of garbage and refuse. "What are we supposed to do with this junk?" Mitchell asked as he twirled three flaming rocks around in his fingers. Reese was watching, fascinated.

"This junk, as Mitchell calls it, are your building materials!" Chris said from atop the pile of garbage. "For all of you who watched the previous season, you will know that the teams had to make their own cabins to stay for the entire game. Today, you'll be doing the same thing!" Eduardo sighed. "That's totally lame. You have no original ideas of your own, Chris." he said with a bored tone. Chris glared at him and cocked an evil grin. "Your right, Eduardo. I am now going to thank you by unleashing a very good friend of mine," Chris said as he pressed a remote control. There was the sound of a mechanical door moving as a hatch opened in the trunk of a pine tree to the cast's right. Everyone turned to see a large shark crawl out on it's crocodile like legs. It grinned, showing its rows of razor sharp teeth. "Meet Fang 2.0!" Chris cried as the shark's eyes glowed red and a jet of lasers fired out and struck a tree, reducing it to ash. "Ah-hahaha! The egg headed interns really went to town with this baby! And who can blame them? After the destruction of Scuba Bear 3.0, we decided to make a robot duplicate of our beloved mutated shark friend, who is now enjoying his retirement in Australia!" Chris said as a flat TV screen popped up from the ground showing a picture of Fang chasing a surfer off the coast of Sydney. The TV vanished as Chris continued to speak. "Now, each member gets one turn to grab something _useful. _And by useful, I mean _useful. _Try not to grab something like the can of soup or bucket of glitter like the last cast did, okay?" Chris said. "But, we don't have our teams yet!" Maurananei exclaimed, her eyes darting between the faces of her team mates.

"Your very perceptive, Maurananei." Chris said. "When I call your name, go stand on that side of the junk yard; Toni, Alex, Reese, Anuok, Micheal, Kiko, and Zelda! You will now be known as the Rampaging Rhinos!" Chris said as the team gathered together. "That means Mitchell, Alan, Caroline, Trey, Eduardo, Maurananei, and Mortisha will now be called the Extreme Eagles!" The team moved to the other side of the garbage pile, and Mortisha was forced to let go of Micheal's hand. No one seemed to notice her disappointment though, as they were all engaged in preparing for the challenge. "Now, GO!" Chris yelled, blowing an air horn to signal the start of the challenge. The teams quickly separated and disappeared into the artificial forest.

* * *

"Anybody got a plan?" Kiko whispered to her team mates. Zelda quickly raised her hand. "Um, Zelda? You don't have to raise your hand. We aren't in school." Zelda bowed and continued. "If one of us diverts the attention of the large, amphibious _Carcharodon carcharias_, we will be able to pick out far more useful stuff at a faster exponential rate." Everyone just stared at her, blinking. Zelda sighed and pinched her brow. "We distract the shark and we grab more stuff." Everyone gave a collective "oooooooooohhh" and nodded their heads in understanding.

_**Confessional**_

"Simpletons." Zelda mutters under her breath.

_**End Confessional**_

"Before anyone goes out there, we should check with Anuok, see if we're doing the right thing or not." Micheal suggested. Everyone turned to Anuok, who had already gone into a sort of meditation state. Seconds later, she opened her eyes and wrote something down on her notepad. Zelda took it read it over before closing her eyes for a moment and nodding. "I ran the calculations, and Micheal is the best candidate to distract fang."

Micheal shrugged. "If you say so. Lets see if I can get something useful." Zelda looked confused. "You say that as if you've had trouble before." Micheal nodded his head in shame. "The watch doesn't always exactly give me what I want. For instance, remember when I scared everyone crapless with that fish man? I was _hoping _I would get an eagle so I wouldn't freak everyone out. So much for that idea." he grumbled. Without another word, he reached for the watch and activated it, cycling through the holographic ring, and then selecting an animal. With a flash of red light, Micheal disappeared and a Thomson's Gazelle reappeared. The tiny antelope blinked and glanced over itself before its head drooped down.

"Let me guess, didn't get what you wanted?" Toni guessed. The gazelle walked over to her and bumped her leg with his head. Toni took this as a "yes". "Look, this has happened to you before, right?" she said. The gazelle nodded. "Well, just go with it! Oh, and try to be fast. I'm sure Fang's hungry." At this, the gazelle's eyes widened in terror before it darted away. Milliseconds later, the previously mentioned shark leaped onto the spot where Micheal had antecedently been, roared, and ran after the frightened gazelle. "Is he going to be alright?" Alex asked. Anuok closed her eyes for a second before flashed open. She quickly wrote something down on her notepad. Zelda grabbed her notepad and glanced over it before terror struck her face. "We have to save Micheal!" she yelled. "But what about the challenge!?" Reese cried.

* * *

"How come we didn't get anybody with super powers!?" Maurananei yelled in exasperation as she saw the red flash light up the woods. Mitchell frowned and summoned a fire ball, which we hurled at a tree. The tree exploded into a shower of wood and sparks. "Hey! Easy on the equipment!" Chris's voice rang out from the loud speaker. Maurananei didn't seem to notice the act, although everyone else did. "At least the oversized guppy is gone." she said to herself. "Eagles, lets move out!" The team ran into the clearing and dove into the junk pile to gather anything they thought might be useful. A minute passed before the loud speaker crackled and Chris's infamous voice echoed across the island.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that we also have Flying Starfish with Laser Eyes?"

"YES!" the entire Extreme Eagles team yelled in unison.

"My bad." Chris apologized as a cloud of small, orange starfish, all with a single red eye in their center, descended down on the, covering them in a large shadow. "I believe now would be a good time to run." Alan squeaked, just before the entire team panicked and fled into oppposite directions. The starfish split up into 7 smaller clouds, one for every poor, unfortunate contestant that was about to be flambeed.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Caroline cried as the starfish fired their lasers at her, striking trees and rocks, but missing her all together, though they would sometimes get very close. Caroline dove stole behind a ring and gasped for breath as the starfish flew past her. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and fell to the ground. "Why does Chris make this so damn hard?" she sighed. There was a rustling sound, and Caroline tensed up, waiting for another monster to come at her. Instead, a small gazelle jumped out of the brush and landed next to her, too tired to even be afraid of her. Caroline relaxed. _At least it's harmless, _she thought. _I hope._

Tentatively, she reached out to the poor animal, who was too exhausted to resist. "You poor thing. What are you doing here so far away from Africa?" she asked as he petted the frightened animal. "Did that mean Chris bring here so you could be food?" The gazelle shook its head and moved its head to the red and silver collar around its neck. Caroline reached for it, and the antelope recoiled. "Don't be afraid! I won't hurt you!" Caroline told the gazelle. The gazelle didn't listen and bounded away before Caroline could say anything else. Moments later, Fang jumped out from behind the tree to land on the spot where the gazelle had been moments before. The amphibious shark snapped his fingers in frustration before running after the collar wearing antelope. Caroline would have followed, but was decided she wanted to live when the swarm of flying starfish found her once more.

"What is wrong with this island!?" she cried in frustration as she ran through the forest again.

* * *

The Rampaging Rhinos had decided that in order to rescue Micheal from a grizzly fate, they would divide up into two smaller team; Zelda, Kiko, Alex, and Toni would compete in the challenge, while Reese and Anuok rescued Micheal from Fang. The two groups would then rendezvous at the Pimâpotew Kinosewak's old tree house from last season. "He sure is fast for a fish with legs," Reese panted as he and Anuok ran through the woods after the robotic shark. Anuok remained silent and continued to run, while Reese dragged behind, his back hunched and arms low to the ground. They ran after Fang for what seemed forever, the main reason so was that Anuok would stumble or trip over every log or rock they came across. Eventually, they lost sight of Fang and Micheal all together.

"What _(pant) _are we _(pant) _going to do _(pant) _now?" Reese wheezed as he collapsed to the ground. Anuok sat next to him on a log, rubbing her sore knees. She was pretty sure that Chris was making this extra difficult for her, ordering the artificial island to move its trees and rocks just to trip her up and make a fool of herself on international TV. "Anuok?" Reese asked. Anuok looked toward him, but didn't say anything. "Do you have any idea on how to save Micheal?" Reese asked her. Anuok closed her eyes and concentrated. Minutes later, she frowned and her eyes opened again as she shook her head no. Reese sighed and sat next to her. "Why do you never talk, Anuok?" he asked her. Anuok heaved a breath that Reese assumed was a sigh and turned away. "Was it something I said?" Reese asked confused. Anuok shook her head no and got up from the log. She walked away from him with her head down and her arms folded over her chest.

_**Confessional**_

"Something's bothering Anuok," Reese said. "She hasn't said a single word ever since she got here. All she does is write on her notepad." Reese paused and thought about something. "Maybe she just can't talk at all?" he guessed.

_**End Confessional**_

"Anuok! Wait!" Reese cried as he ran after her. Unfortunately for Reese, Anuok had simply seemed to disappear into thin air. One moment she was there, the next she had mysteriously vanished, as if she hadn't existed at all in the first place. Reese gulped and began to walk forward through the woods, jumping at every single rustle in the bush or snap of a twig. It seemed, at least to him, that the entire island was out to get him. Every tree, rock, and freaky mutant appeared to want to hurt him in some way or other. And the constant screams that rang through the quiet forest weren't exactly helpful either

* * *

Unbeknownst to Reese, or even Chris for that matter, Anuok sat alone up in the large hollow of a huge pine tree. The prickly branches and needles discouraged anyone that tried to get up there into the hollow. Everyone but Anuok. Sighing, she sat back and let her sore muscles relax. And she began thinking. Everyone seemed so nice, and they all seemed to want to be her friend, asking her for advice whenever the future was clear enough. Zelda, while the smartest person on the island, always let Anuok go through her plans to see if there were any unaccounted flaws she had missed. And with Chris, there would always be a surprise that neither Zelda nor Anuok hadn't seen, which would no doubt try to kill them. She loved her new found friends, and she hoped they would stay her friends, but she knew that it would be difficult for someone who didn't talk to keep up a social life.

Just then, a red tailed hawk alighted down on the branch outside the hollow. It peered into the hollow, spotted Anuok and screeched. It then stepped back out and pecked at a small red and silver collar around its neck. In a flash of red light, the bird was gone. In its place was Micheal, trying desperately to regain his balance on the tree branch. Once he had managed to sit down comfortably, he turned to Anuok, who was looking at him with curiosity dancing in her eyes.

"Anuok?" Micheal asked. "Why are you all the way up here, instead of helping the team?" Anuok reached into her pocket, pulled her notepad and pen and wrote something down on it before handing it to Micheal. He sighed, took it in one hand, and read it over. When he was done, he handed it back to her. "So Reese is out here too?" he asked. Anuok jerked her head up and down. "So, why exactly are you up here? In this tree?" Micheal asked her. Anuok just frowned and turned away from him. Micheal stretched his neck upward in an attempt to see her face, which was contorted into pain. "Are you shy?"

Nod. Yes.

"You don't have a lot of friends, do you?"

Shake. No.

"Do you trust a lot of people?"

Shake. No.

"What about us? The Rhinos?"

A shrug of her shoulders.

Micheal sighed and edged closer to the opening of the hollow. "Look, I don;t know what happened to you in the past, but I can guarantee that no one here is here just to hurt you. Not me, not Kiko, not Reese, not even Toni. While I can;t say the same for the Eagles or Chris, I will swear upon my Animatrix that we won;t hurt you in any way." Micheal said to her. Anuok didn't move. Micheal sighed. "I'm going back to the challenge to help the others. If you aren't back in a half hour, I'm coming back for you, and I will drag you to the team. Not because I'm trying to be cruel to you or anything; I just want to make sure you don't get voted off." Micheal then edged away from the hole in the tree and activated his watch.

Once he selected an animal, he turned to look at Anuok's small form and pressed the symbol. The familiar red flash enveloped him, and a bald eagle took to the sky, stretching its 8 ft wingspan, leaving Anuok by herself once more.

* * *

"Alright, lets see what we've got here." Kiko said as she dusted off her hands. While Micheal had been risking his life, and Reese and Anuok had gone off to go save him, the rest of the team had focused on getting what they needed from the junk pile while the going was good. Kiko looked down at what they collected, and was mildly pleased that everyone managed to grab something useful; several coils of old rope, a couple piles of planks, some metal sheeting and shingles, a bucket filled with nails, hinges, and screws, and an assortment of tools. "So, what do we do with this stuff?" Alex said, picking up a plank of wood. Unfortunately for him, there was a spider on the board, and it didn't exactly look friendly. With a girl scream, Alex dropped the board and hid behind Kiko, who looked at him oddly.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I _might _have a _slight _fear of insects and spiders." Alex confessed to the camera. "When I was 7, my sister put fire ants in my bed after I told on her when she stole a cookie from the cookie jar. Ever since then, I've developed a phobia of arthropods. I can't even go to seafood restaurants anymore! I'm afraid the crabs and lobsters will get me!" he cried to the camera. Just then a fly landed on his forehead, causing him to scream and then faint.

_**End Confessional**_

Zelda looked over the pile of equipment and looked at their rendezvous point, the Pimâpotew Kinosewak's old tree house. It had started to rot and become overgrown with moss, mold, and vines, and was in desperate need of repairs, not that the shows cheap host would do anything to fix it up. "I have a solution." Zelda said to her team. "We could use this stuff to repair the damaged tree house from last season." Everyone quickly agreed to the idea, as it saved time by actually having to build a shelter, and with the show being run by a mad man, being above the ground had its advantages. Toni grabbed some of the old rope and slung it over one of the railings of the tree house, so the team could haul their supplies up. A couple of minutes after they had done so, a bald eagle landed on the railing before hopping down to the deck. A flash of red light later, and Micheal appeared, looking slightly pleased with himself.

"What are you smiling about?" Toni asked. "Other than the fact that you're still alive?" Micheal smiled and grabbed a hammer and some nails. "Nice idea with rebuilding the old tree house from last season. Chris isn't gonna be happy when he sees this." Zelda cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "And just why would he be unhappy?" she asked him. "Because he was planning on testing to see if our shelters were bison proof." he answered as he pounded away on a nail. "Bison? Isn't that a bit cliché?" Alex asked. "I mean, serious. He did the same thing with moose last season!"

Micheal shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. What I _do _know is that the other team is never gonna beat us. Last time I saw them, they were being chased by some mutant, flying starfish." "Seriously? Mutant starfish?" Kiko asked. "Isn't that a bit overboard?" There then was a crackling noise as Chris's voice came across the speakers. "No, no it is not overboard. Now be quiet before I unleash the beaver bots on you!"

* * *

"Chris! When I get my hands on you, I swear, you won't be able to walk right for a month!" Maurananei yelled as she ran from the mutant starfish. "Oooooh! I'm so scared!" Chris said in a mocking tone to the flat screen TV capturing the terror of the campers for him to watch. "Uh, Chris I think you _should_ be scared." Chef said nervously, pointing at the screen. Chris turned to look at the screen, and what he saw actually frightened him. Maurananei had suddenly ripped an entire pine tree out from the island circuitry and was currently using it like a baseball bat to try and swat the flying starfish. "Wow. Didn't see that coming." was all Chris managed to say.

Just then, Maurananei noticed the camera filming her, and a sly smile split across her face. "Hiiiii, Chef!" Maurananei cried. "Like what you see?" she asked as she posed, throwing the pine tree and taking them out for good. Chef however, looked green. "I have never felt so sick in my life." he gasped. "No kidding! I just lost my deposit on those Starfish-bots!" Chris exclaimed.

_**Confessional**_

"Chefy Wefy is the perfect man for me." Maurananei sighed. "He's got everything I love! Big muscles, deep voice, loves to torture people, and even a dark, mysterious past! What more could you want!?" Maurananei laughed with glee.

_**Change Confessional**_

_Chef throwing up in the confessional._

_**End Confessional**_

"Come on Chefy Wefy! Come on out so I can give you a big kiss!" Maurananei yelled to the camera. The cameraman holding the camera, looked more disgusted then he had ever been. "Maurananei, stop flirting with Chef and get on with the challenge!" Chris yelled over the speakers. One could literally hear the rage dripping from his voice. "Oh, fine! But I will be back for you, Chef! I'll always be here for you!" Maurananei yelled before running back toward the clearing. She found Alan, Mortisha, Mitchell, and Eduardo already sifting through the wreckage of the junkyard. Caroline was no where to be found, and Trey was up in a tree, keeping watch for Fang, lest he return and turn one of them into a chew toy. "Do you see anything yet!?" Mitchell yelled up to the top of a large tree. A second passed before a loud shrieking could be heard, blasting all the trees back. All the birds within a mile radius suddenly exploded, their wires and circuits sparking.

"I'm gonna guess that's a no." Mitchell said.

"WHAT!?" Alan cried.

"I'm gonna guess that's a no!" Mitchell yelled.

WHAT!?" Mortisha yelled.

"I'M GONNA GUESS THAT'S A NO!" Mitchell roared at his team mates.

"Well you don't have to yell!" Maurananei shot back at him. Mitchell merely sighed, pinched his brow, and went back to digging through the junk yard. "This is bogus!" Maurananei yelled in frustration after a quarter of an hour. "All the good stuff is taken, and Caroline is no where to be found!" A groan came from the woods, and a couple minutes later a burnt, broken, and dazed Caroline crawled out from the forest, her left arm hanging limply at her side. "What the heck happened to you!?" Mitchell asked as he and the rest of the team ran over to her, catching her just before she fell to the ground.

"Shark . . . . . starfish . . . . . . gazelle . . . . . . poison ivy . . . ." she groaned. Everyone flinched when they saw her red skin, raw from so much itching. "That's gotta hurt." Maurananei said as Mortisha and Mitchell propped Caroline up on their shoulders and helped walk her over to the junk pile where they set her down on a rock to rest. "You sit here and rest. We'll try and grab something useful from the pile." Mortisha told her. Caroline nodded and lay down on the rock, resisting the urge to scratch her already burning skin. "And time's almost up!" Chris's voice yelled from the loud speaker. "You have 5 minutes!"

"Quick! Everyone grab something useful and meet me at the swamp!" Maurananei ordered to her team. "I've got an idea!" Her team complied as Trey jumped down from his tree to help and Maurananei scooped Caroline up in her arms as she ran towards the swamp.

* * *

"Come on, people! Build! Build! Build!" Maurananei yelled as the precious seconds ticked by. While her team mates had been busy grabbing supplies, Maurananei had been busy finding a spot to build their shelter and had come across an area of swamp with four trees standing standing in a square pattern, with the trees being at the corners. Her idea had been to build a sort of stilt house above the swamp, similar to the ones down in New Orleans. After setting Maurananei down in a bed of reeds, Maurananei set to work with finding four logs to create the frame for the floor of the house. Once she had secured them to the trees with vines, she gathered smaller logs to create walls, which were also tied together with vines. She was about to go hunting for some reeds when her team mates arrived, covered in mosquito bites.

"Let me guess, you invited some mosquitoes over for lunch?" Maurananei joked at them. The team simply glared at her and dropped their supplies on a small mud flat. A small pile of rotting boards, rusty nails, a lighter, and some rope were among the useful items in the pile. Among the not so useful items were a couple bales of hay, a stool with a broken leg, a can of tuna, and a whistle of sorts. "Well, I guess _some _of this stuff we can work with." Maurananei sighed. "Mitchell, Mortisha, and Alan? Get to work on the floor. Trey, Eduardo, and I will go gather some reeds to make a roof. Got it?"

"Whatever." Eduardo sighed before trudging off into the swamp with Trey and Maurananei following closely behind. "What is that kid's problem?" Maurananei asked Trey quietly as they followed Eduardo through the swamp. "You talkin' 'bout the dude with the EMO attitude? No idea." Trey said as he tuned his guitar.

"I know your talking about me back there." Eduardo moaned back to them. "And my problem is that I have no desire to live." Maurananei looked at him strangley. "So, you aren't here to win the million dollars?" Eduardo shook his head. "No, I came here in the hopes that Chris's challenges would kill me. So far, the only one who's injured is Caroline." Without another word he moved off in another direction away from Maurananei and Trey.

* * *

"Done!" Alex yelled triumphantly as he hammered in the last nail. The team cheered as Alex climbed down from the roof. The tree house was complete; the railing was replaced, a rope ladder was added, mold was scrapped away, beds were fixed, and even a small indoor plumbing system with a sink (Zelda had thought of that one). As everyone celebrated, Micheal slipped away from the group, climbing down the rope ladder to the ground before activating the watch and slapping down on the transformation button. The red flash engulfed him as he ran into the forest, away from his team.

Just then, Chris arrived on his infamous jet pack, hovering a few feet from the tree house railing. "Nice, Rampaging Rhinos. Using the old tree house from last season! Brilliant!" he announced, receiving more cheers. "Now it is time to defend your shelter!" The cheers abruptly stopped. "As a wise man once said, a man's home is his castle. I've decided to take that quote and make reality! You have to defend your shelter from the other team and either capture all of them, or capture/destroy their own fortress. You have 10 minutes to prepare!" Chris said as he left in a cloud of smoke. Everyone just stood there for a moment, letting it all sink in, before they began to yell; either complaining about Chris or discussing battle strategies for the challenge. Either way, it was a lot of yelling.

* * *

Elsewhere on the island, was a small boy wandering through the woods, jumping at every little sound that met his ears; the snap of a twig, the rustling if something running through the leaves, a shadow passing overhead. Reese gulped as he walked deeper and deeper into the woods, searching for his lost friends Anuok – who had suddenly disappeared into the forest without a trace – and Micheal – who had sacrificed himself as shark bait so the rest of the team could win the challenge – and he was getting no where close to finding him.

"Hello?" he called out into the dark woods. The trees had begun to overlap, their canopies shutting out any sunlight that tried to fight their way through to the forest floor. A crow cawed off in the distance, making him jump. A rustling in the leaves behind him made him startle, and when a dark pair of brown eyes peered out at him from a bush, he began to all out run in the opposite direction. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he cried. The thing was after him!

No matter where Reese ran, the thing was always just behind him, jumping and swinging through the tree tops with ease. Once or twice he felt it graze his back, but this only made him run faster, his heart pumping like crazy. And suddenly he was off the ground! A pair of large, rough, leathery hands were hooked on his brown sweatshirt, pulling him off the the ground and into the air, as if it were flying on a pair of great wings.

"Please, Mr. Monster! Just make my death quick and swift!" he begged. The monster didn't react and simply continued on its way through the trees, with Reese not having the slightest clue where he was going. After what felt like hours they finally came to a large tree with a large hollow in its side, and Reese quickly assumed this was the monster's lair, where he would be quickly devoured with seasoning and butter. Instead he was ungracefully dumped on the branch outside the hollow, knocking the wind out of him. Another loud thump met his ears as the monster landed next to him. Reese closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, but nothing came. Daring a peek, he cracked open his eyes and saw a large, orange hair orangutan sitting on the branch next to him, munching on a papaya. Reese breathed a sigh of relief and scrambled up onto the branch to get more comfy. He studied the orangutan, trying to avoid looking at its horrible table manners, and noticed it had a round disk stuck to its chest with a red and silver teeth pattern on it.

"Micheal?" he asked. "Is that you?" The orangutan nodded, and hooted with amusement. Reese frowned and folded his arms. "It wasn't funny. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he yelled at the ape, who covered its eyes with its hands. Reese huffed and turned away. Moments later, half of a papaya landed on his lap, and he turned to see a hopeful gaze on the male orangutan's face. A peace offering. Reese sighed, took the papaya, and stuffed it into his pocket. "Fine. I'll let this one off the hook." he said, greeted by a happy grunt from the great ape. Reese smiled. "But, I have to ask, Micheal. Why'd you bring me here? I doubt you wanted to have lunch with me." The orangutan nodded and gestured into the tree hole, motioning for Reese to follow. Reese peered inside, and was promptly shoved in, landing on his face. He picked himself up, spitting out tree bark, and saw a small figure off to one side with its back turned to her. A red flash lit up the dark hollow, and Micheal was there, crouching low.

"She hasn't moved in over and hour." he said to Reese.

"And she hasn't probably said anything either." Reese guessed.

Anuok could hear them both talking about her. Seriously, who couldn't? They were less than two feet away from her. And what she heard made her wonder. Was all her friends saw out of her just something to abuse and then toss aside when it lost its use? Well, at least Micheal and Reese cared enough to come back for her. At least that was something.

"Look, either way we need you Anuok." Micheal told her. "We need you now, or you'll be taking the Ride of Shame tonight! And neither me or Reese want that!" At this, Anuok perked up. Her friends wanted her?

"We don't care whether you can't or won't talk," Reese said to her. "We just want you back and out of this sulking mood." Other than that last part, Anuok was more than happy that her friends accepted her for what she was, silent or not. With that in mind, she stood up (as much as one could in a tree hollow) and pulled both Reese and Micheal into a hug, startling both of them. "I'll take that as a yes?" Reese guessed. Anuok bobbed her head and they all exited the tree hollow and climbed down to the ground. "Give me a sec, and we can be on our way." Micheal said as he fiddled with the watch. "I imagine that the challenge has already taken place. Hope we're not too late."

* * *

"Where's Micheal when you need him!" Kiko cried. That added up to three team mates MIA. _And one of them is goin' home tonight_, she thought. She yelped as another explosion set off just a few feet to her left. She screamed and ran forward as flaming arrows shot off and embedded themselves in the ground where she had been moments before. "Who gives a team of teenagers dynamite and arrows to protect a fort!" she screamed. Another explosion ripped apart a tree to her right, splinters flying everywhere. "When I get my hands on Chris, I am gonna rip him a new one!" she said to herself. As one who might have been watching the show could have guessed, Chris had given the team with the cruddy cabin the more dangerous equipment. The other team had gotten wooden swords, angry leeches, and poorly built slingshots as weapons.

Things were not going well for the Rhinos.

Add the fact that the Eagles had built their cabin in the middle of a swamp, surrounded by mosquito infested, alligator crawling, and piranha inhabited water that smelled as if several hundred somethings had gone and died in it. Needless to say, it _stank. _And while Kiko hated to admit it, the Extreme Eagles did a good job at defending their fortress, using their natural surroundings to their advantage. The extra fire power provided by Chris was an added bonus. That, and the fact that she was alone of here with only Zelda at her side guaranteed a win for the Extreme Eagles. While the girl was as smart as hell, Kiko wasn't exactly sure if she was capable of dealing damage.

"Incoming!" she heard Zelda shout from somewhere above the swamp, hidden in the trees. Kiko instinctively back as another explosion went off in front of her, sending seering heat through the air. It was a wonder nothing caught fire. "Move!" Zelda cried as a loud rustling could be heard in the tree tops. Kiko moved forward, kicking up small waves as she entered the water. She shivered as she felt something slide past her leg, but she didn't have time to think about that right now.

"Do you see anything all the way up there!?" she yelled up. Zelda could barely hear her voice over the rounds of explosions and dramatic music that seemed to suddenly pop in randomly at the right time. "Nothing yet!" she called back down. She then quickly jumped to another tree, clearing the landing with ease. She breathed a sigh of relief. Normally she was terrible with heights of any kinds. It was a wonder she had made it through the building challenge without worry of her nerves kicking in all that way up above the ground . . . .

That was when she fainted.

Kiko slogged through the swamp as fast as she could manage with a could of mosquitoes buzzing around her head (Chris had been nice enough _**not **_to provide bug spray), when a sudden splash to her right caught her attention. Fearing it was another alligator (a rather large one had attempted to make a meal of out her, and had only given up when Kiko had thrown rocks, sticks, and an old can of ravioli at it), she readied herself in the best fighting stance she could muster, and was shocked to see it was Zelda floating face down in the hot sludge, small bubbles trailing from her lips.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I _may _have a slight fear of heights," Zelda admitted to the camera, her hair and clothes damp. " And I may have a fear of fire, closed spaces, the dark, being alone, and death. And I don't do so well around things with scales and teeth." She sighed. "Thank goodness Kiko was there to pull me out and give me CPR. Although I wonder why her lips tasted like rotting fish." she said to herself, smacking her lips slightly.

_**End Confessional**_

Kiko quickly slogged over to Zelda and looped her arms over her shoulders and around her neck before pulling her towards the mud covered shore. Once there she lay Zelda on her back and began to forcefully pump her chest region, forcing as much water out of her lungs as she could. When that only seemed to bring a little of the color back to Zelda's face, Kiko panicked. "What am I supposed to do?" she yelled aloud to herself. "I am not giving this girl mouth to mouth after he icky lips have been covered in god knows what!" Suddenly a raccoon scurried by, pausing to look curiously at the two girls, and a cruel thought crossed Kiko's mind.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so maybe using a raccoon to give Zelda mouth to mouth was a bit much." Kiko said. "But would you have seriously given mouth to mouth to someone who had their face dunked in to nature's equivalent of a compost pile? Na-ah. I don't think so."

_**End Confessional**_

Kiko quickly tossed the startled and deeply disturbed raccoon back into the woods just as Zelda started to cough and sputter up water. A few seconds later and her eyes opened. "Thanks," she croaked. "I owe you one." Kiko smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." she said with a sinister tone, though Zelda didn't seem to pick up on it.

_**Confessional**_

Kiko seemed to be ecstatic. "Yes! I finally have an ally in this game!" she cried, pumping a fist in the rank air of the outhouse. "Just goes to show ya that with age comes beauty _and _brains!"

_**End Confessional**_

"And it seems that the Rampaging Rhinos suck both at attacking _and _defending!" Chris announced from the safety of his helicopter. Down below him, the two remaining team mates of the Rampaging Rhinos – Alex and Toni – were doing everything in what little power they had to stop the attack of the Extreme Eagles led by Trey, Alan, Mortisha, and Mitchell, who were all armed with large bazookas. "How come they get ***BEEP*** bazookas! Toni swore as she dodged a shot by Alan. Mitchell and Trey had long since ditched their firearms in favor of their own weapons; Trey played a rock solo on his guitar, sending out large amounts of sound waves that assaulted anyone's ears within a 10 mile radius, while Mitchell shot round after round of molten hot fire. Alex panicked as their tree house was suddenly ablaze, small fires dotting the deck and eating away at the rope ladder.

"AHH!" Alex yelled as another sound wave hit the tree house, his ears pounding like a drum set hooked up to a loud speaker at the grand canyon (don't ask me how I know this). Toni quickly grabbed her slingshot and loaded it with a small rock. She pulled the string taunt and let the rock fly, hitting Trey in the gut, making him stop playing for a moment. Toni quickly reloaded and fired another rock, this time hitting him in the leg. She then began to quickly fire rock after rock at Trey, keeping him from playing his guitar, which he was using as a shield.

"Dude! Not cool!" he yelled as Mitchell shot off around another round of fire at Toni. Alex panicked and ran back into the main structure of the tree house and came back out with a long fire house that was hooked up to the sink. "When did we have time to install that!?" Toni asked him as she continued to fire her rocks at Trey. Alex shrugged and turned on the hose, firing a thin stream of water at Mitchell. Mitchell quickly swerved to the right, just barely missing the jet of water. Another jerk of the hose, and Mitchell was soaked and falling out of the sky toward the nearby lake.

* * *

"Are you good?" Kiko asked Zelda. The girl gave a thumbs up and they continued through the swamp. After a half hour of trudging, climbing, slipping, and falling they finally caught sight of the Extreme Eagle's stilt house fortress. It really did look like a shabby house of stilts that one might find hidden deep in the bayous of Louisiana. Kiko held a finger up to her lips and the two girls crept forward. Silently, they moved forward through the waist deep water of the swamp, swimming as silently as an alligator stalking prey.

"Woah!" Zelda yelled as she suddenly plunged downward in the water. Moments before her head went under, Kiko grabbed her hand and yanked her up, with a slightly annoyed look on her face. Zelda was breathing heavily. "Thanks, Kiko! I owe you another one." Zelda gasped.

_**Confessional**_

"Wow. Two favors in one day!" Kiko said excitedly. "If this keeps up I'll have her eating out of my hand! And once she's out lived her usefullness?" Kiko then drew her finger across her neck with a slicing sound.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Kiko has saved my butt twice in one day." Zelda stated to the camera. "I feel so safe that she has my back!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"While I may not be the best trap maker in the world," Maurananei told the camera with an amused look plastered on her face. "I can't believe someone actually fell into the underwater pit traps! Took me a while to dig them, but it was worth it!" Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Chef, do you like what you see?" she asked, posing for the camera.

_**End Confessional**_

"Look out!" Kiko screamed as another bomb crashed into a tree and exploded, sending up a tidal wave of swamp water. "Quick! Behind that pile of sticks!" Zelda yelled. Both girls quickly dove behind the pile and peeked out over the edge, just another bomb was fired at them from the stilt house. The girls screamed as it went off, sending Kiko into a tree and Zelda at the silt house, flying in through an open window. Groaning, she picked herself up and came face to face with an angry Maurananei holding a small dagger to her throat. "Don't move." she hissed. Zelda gulped and riased her hands in surrender. Maurananei put the knife away and grabbed Zelda by the hands, lifting her clean off the ground, and walked over to a corner where a coil of rope lay. A few seconds and a round of rope later, Zelda sat tied up in the corner with a piece of cloth tied over her mouth, silencing her.

To Zelda's left lay Caroline, who was still injured. Her arm was in a sling, and most of her scratches and bruises were in bandages or fixes. "You okay?" Zleda asked her, but it sounded more like "Mou moay?" Carloine nodded her head as much as she could, wincing in pain. Zelda immediately felt sorry for her. Next chance she got, Chris was getting a whooping.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Maurananei wondered as loud sucking sound could be heard. She ran to the window and looked at the wall of sticks to see a large hole in it, the water being sucked away like it was a bathtub drain. Slowly, the water level of the swamp receded, leaving a mud floor dotted with wet grass, puddles, flopping fish, and several large pits. A stray alligator grumbled as the water was drained away, and slid into one of the deeper puddles.

"Darn it!" Maurananei cursed. "Eduardo! I need you on the ground!"

"Whatever." was the response as Eduardo climbed down the ladder to the ground with a bazooka strapped to his back. "With any luck, this thing will kill me." he said to himself. "FIRE!" Maurananei commanded as Kiko suddenly appeared, charging through the trees. Eduardo aimed and fired off a round of ammunition, missing every time as Kiko dodged and rolled her way out of trouble. "Damn it!" Maurananei cursed. "Eduardo, you are the worst shot I have ever seen!"

"As if I care." Eduardo muttered to himself. He quickly reloaded and fired again, missing every time he fired, until an explosion caught Kiko off guard and caused her to fall to the ground. "Get her Eduardo!" ordered. Eduardo sighed and aimed thew weapon at Kiko's head, his finger on the trigger. "Do you give up or something?" he droned. Kiko was about to reply when the ground started to rumble and shake.

"Earthquake!" Kiko yelled.

"The Cops!" Maurananei roared.

"The Apocalypse!" Zelda cried in a muffled voice.

"My twin sister!" Eduardo said with a bored tone.

"Neither!" Caroline managed to moan. Maurananei turned to her with a worry all over her. "Well? What is it!?" she roared in a panicked sense. If there is nothing more terrifying than your deepest, darkest fears, it's facing those deep, dark fears in the unknown. And that was what they were experiencing right now.

"Elephant!" Caroline screamed. Maurananei dashed to the window and saw a massive mountain of muscle and bone crashing through the trees, flattening them with ease. The animal let loose a loud trumpet that shook the island, sending clouds of birds flying into the sky. Maurananei cried out in surprise and jumped out the window, completely forgetting about Caroline and Zelda in the process.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGE!" Reese yelled, pointing a finger at the stilt house. The elephant trumpeted again and surged forward. Anuok sat just behind Reese, clinging on for dear life as the animal ran. Explosions suddenly went off behind them and Anuok turned to see clouds of fire sprout up from the ground. Anuok quickly scribbled on her note pad and handed it to Reese. "Mines!? Seriously!?" he yelled.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so _maybe _I went a little overboard with the traps and defenses." Maurananei admitted.

_**End Confessional**_

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Maurananei cried as she landed on a mine that went off and careened her through the air, just as the elephant smashed through the stilt house like it was made of toothpicks (which, compared to an elephant, it kind of was). "Woah!" Caroline cried as she was sent into the air and landed (hard) on the elephant's back. Zelda was caught by the the animal's trunk, and was ungaged and freed by Reese. Reese then steered the elephant back around, and grabbed the back of Kiko's shirt as they rode past, trampling Eduardo in the process.

"Yes . . . . finally!" he gasped from the ground.

"And the Rampaging Rhinos win!" Chris announced. "By completely obliterating the Extreme Eagle's fort, they win the first challenge of the season, and, get to enjoy a couple hours in our new Hangout of Awesomeness!" Chris yelled, gesturing to a bunker like building. The door opened up to reveal three flat screen TVs, video game consoles, a hot tub, several couches and bean bag chairs, and fully stocked pizza pantry with unlimited soda. The Rhinos cheered and celebrated, while the elephant lumbered over to a bruised Trey, soaked Mitchell, mangled Alan, and surprisingly unscathed Mortisha, and gently set Caroline down on the ground in front of them.

"Unfortunately for the Extreme Eagles, you will be sending one sorry looser home tonight!" Chris said as the four teens glanced at each other nervously.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so _maybe _I've been a bit bossy lately," Maurananei admitted glumly. There was a thick bandage around her head, her hair still covering her eye, and her right arm was in a sling. "I just hope I'm not the one going home tonight. I haven't had enough time with my Chefy Wefy yet."

_**Change Confessional**_

"There is no way I am ever seeing that maniac of a girl!" Chef yelled. "I vowed to stay single afta that time in Austria! And besides, she gives me the creeps." siad, saying the last part as he shivered in fear.

_**End Confessional**_

"Ahh, the Elimination Ceremony," Chris sighed from his station; an old tar barrel that acted as a podium. The Extreme Eagles sat on several logs and barrels, with worried looks on their eyes.

"One of your sorry butts is going home tonight." Chris said. "If I give you a marshmallow, your safe." he said, holding up a plate of 6 marshmallows. "Mortisha." Mortisha squealed with excitement and caught her marshmallow.

"Mitchell." Chris said, tossing the marshmallow to the Pyro-teen. Mitchell caught in his hand and roasted it with his eyes, sending out a jet of flame before eating it.

"Trey." Trey pumped his fist and caught his marshmallow.

"Caroline." Chris said, throwing the marshmallow to Caroline. The delicious campfire treat merely bounced off her face and fell to the ground, the poor girl unable to catch it.

"Alan." Chris said. "YES!" the boy cried, jumping up and down happily. That left Maurananei and Eduardo, both sporting bandages and casts.

"Maurananei! You're on the chopping block for your poor leadership skills, poor building skills, poor trap making skills . . . . . wow, you don't have a lot of good skills, do ya?" Chris said, Maurananei hanging her head in shame. "_And _leaving a team mate to be crushed by a 6 ton pachyderm? Not cool." Chris added. Maurananei bit her lip as Chris moved on to Eduardo.

"And Eduardo! Your here for not helping your team out and just saying 'Whatever' instead." Chris said. Eduardo merely shrugged, not caring that he had a broken leg and neck.

"And the final marshmallow goes to . . . . . . ."

Maurananei bit her lip, nervousness crawling through her and eating away at her like a parasite. Eduardo just starred ahead blankly, not caring in the slightest about what might happen next. The rest of team waited anxiously, wanting to know who would remain with them and who would be sent home. Mortisha bit her fingernails. Alan bit his lip and twiddled his fingers. Trey played with his hair nervously. Mitchell twirled three flaming rocks around in his fingers. Caroline couldn't do anything but sweat. The suspense was killing everyone.

"Maurananei." Chris said, finally. "You're safe. For tonight."

"Yes!" Maurananei cheered, wincing at the jolt of pain from her right arm. "Eduardo! You're being sent home, via our new elimination device!" Chris announced, gesturing down to the docks, where Chef waited with a tarp. The muscled cook yanked it off, revealing a sleek, black submarine with Chris's face painted on the side.

"Behold! The Torpedo of Shame!" Chris said.

* * *

The inside of the submarine was filled with fancy items; a fireplace, a wood burning pizza oven, a leather recliner with a cappuccino machine on the side table, a large flat screen TV, and imported rug. The only part that was decorated to impress was the area where they loaded the torpedoes to be fired. "Any finally words?" Chris asked the EMO kid as he climbed into a capsule shaped like a torpedo.

"Whatever." was all the boy said as the capsule sealed shut. Chef grabbed the seed vessel and shoved it into the firing station, signaling Chris that everything was ready.

"FIRE!" Chris yelled as he pressed a remote control was a large red button. The submarine fired the capsule with Eduardo inside, sending him flying through the water toward a distant island, where it exploded with a satisfying BOOM!

"1 down, and 13 to go!" Chris said as he turned to the camera. "Who will win? Who will lose? And who will be the next one to boom? Find next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And there's the first episode! So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Please give me your comments in the reviews below! I have gotten a few Pms for other characters, and I am here to announce that they will be coming into the game at a later date and time. If you have any criticism, ideas for challenges, or just want to chat, just PM me or comment in the reviews. I am going to apologize I advance; if your OC doesn't end up with someone, no flames! Those belong to Mitchell!**


	2. Beauty and the Zeke

**Hey! I'm back! I'm happy that I got so many reviews so quickly! Either way, if you have ideas for future challenges and plots, please PM me! And remember! YOU get to decide who goes next! Here we go with the second episode!**

**(If you have already read this chapter, I just want to say that I made a couple mistakes when writing this. I have fixed said mistakes. Enjoy.)**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! We got see how the new cast builds their mighty castles, only to watch them come crashing down! Eduardo the EMO kid was sent packing as he preferred to just say "Whatever" instead of helping his team not get crushed. This season we came across some very super powered teens, like Micheal the Watch Bearer, who managed to completely obliterate the Extreme Eagles fortress in the Capture the Fort challenge!"

"Will he prove useful yet again in this weeks challenge? Or will he be able to drive everyone _bananas_?" Chris joked as a large gorilla wearing a red and silver collar suddenly appeared next to him, pounding his chest and roaring. Chris coolly pulled out a remote and clicked it, opening a trap door under the gorilla's feet and sending him into the lake below. "Camera _hog_" Chris joked, laughing at his own horrible comedy.

"Who will win? Who will live? Who will be shoved into the Torpedo of Shame next? Next, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**Theme Song Plays**_

The sun slowly rose into the sky, shining its warm rays of light through the forest of Pahkitew Island. Birds sang their morning songs with cheer, one of them alighting onto the window sill of a certain tree house that sheltered 7 sleeping contestants. One such contestant blinked open her eyes and yawned, stretching her arms and cracking her back before climbing out of bed. Humming quietly to herself so as not to wake the others, she tip toed across the floor and grabbed an old towel from the sink, climbed down the rope ladder, and headed off into the woods.

Since Chris had been too cheap to buy anything useful for the season, the contestants had no choice but to shower and use the bathroom in the woods (though not necessarily in the same place). Zelda hummed a bit louder as she walked deeper into the forest, heading towards a small pool toward the Western part of island with a cool waterfall and stream that eddied into the surrounding lake. Little did she know that someone was following her, stalking their ways through the trees out of her line of sight.

Once she reached the small pond, barely avoiding Fang on the way there, she stripped off her sleep wear and waded into the water all the way up to the waterfall where the spray covered her naked form. She began to sing quietly to herself as she soaked her hair, completely unaware that a pair of blue eyes were watching her. The stalker crept silently through the brush, being extremely careful not to step on any stray twig, lest he give away his position.

Zelda was just about to get out of the pond when she heard a splash to her left. She cracked open an eye, expecting to see an animal of some sort, something like a duck or beaver, but saw nothing. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to her shower, oblivious to the figure moving beneath the surface of the pond toward her. A rippling noise met Zelda's ears and she looked around, once again finding nothing unusual. A couple minutes later Zelda was sure she heard another splash, accompanied by heavy breathing, as if the thing stalking her was a mere 2 feet away.

That was when she was noticed the blonde covered ball sitting on a pile or orange cloth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zelda screamed, covering her most private parts as Alan moved through the water towards, a sort of disturbing, hungry look in his eye. Zelda continued to scream, throwing water at him in the hopes that it would forestall him in coming closer. Alan merely moved under the water to avoid the barrage of water, causing Zelda to scream even more, tears already start to form in her eyes.

"Please! Just leave me alone!" she begged moving behind the waterfall.

Alan merely smiled wickedly and crept forward. "C'mon, Beauty. Let's see what you're hiding."

Zelda screamed even more picking up a nearby branch, fully prepared to smack Alan over the head with it and hopefully give him some brain trauma. She raised the branch up and was braced to hit over the head when he grabbed the stick and flung it back over her shoulder. Zelda was now all the way backed up against the rock face behind the waterfall, still covering her nether regions and breasts. Just when it looked like Alan was gonna get what he wanted, her a flash of red light, turning the water a crimson pinkish color. Alan completely ignored, he was so close to his quarry. Zelda however, knew what that familiar red flash meant.

"Any last words before we begin?" Alan growled, a creepy smile on his face.

"Yes; Say hello to a little friend of mine." she smiled evilly.

Alan raised an eyebrow in confusion, but shrugged it off. Just as he was about to ravish Zelda's body, he was suddenly yanked back through the waterfall, his screams echoing across the island. Zelda crept to the waterfall and peered through to see a 4.5 metric ton _Stegosaurus _standing up to its knees in the body. Its spiked tail was hooked on Alan's orange hoodie, and it was whipping him back and forth like a rag doll, smacking its tail – and Alan – on the ground, much to Zelda's sick pleasure. The Piece de Resistance was when the _Stegosaurus _gave a twirl of its tail and sent Alan flying clear across the island with ease. The dinosaur grunted with satisfaction as it watched Alan sailing through the air.

"That's gonna hurt on landing." Zelda laughed. The _Stegosaurus _bellowed its agreement, and a flash of light later, was gone. "You okay?" Micheal asked her, his back to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay." she told him.

"He didn't touch you anything?"

Zelda shook her head. "Nah. He was pretty close though, until you came in and kicked his butt."

"Good. If he comes back, just give a shout, okay?" Micheal said, an evil grin forming on his face.

Zelda blushed and waved him off before disappearing back behind the waterfall.

_**Confessional**_

"Man, that was close." Zelda sighed with relief. "Next time that little prick comes near me . . ." she trailed off. "Thank goodness for that Animatrix of Micheal's."

_**Change Confessional**_

"I'll admit, that felt good." Micheal smiled. "I've been meaning to have a word with that little moron the moment he set foot on the island. Next time he tries that, he's gonna wish he never met me."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Note to self," Alan moaned. "Do not get on Micheal and/or Zelda's bad side."

_**End Confessional**_

"I can't believe we lost!" Maurananei yelled.

"Well, to be fair, they _did _use an elephant to beat us." Caroline coughed, her condition not any better than from a few days ago. Whenever she coughed or talked for that matter, it felt like her insides were going to come marching out on her tongue. "Yeah, but that should be illegal!" Maurananei aargued.

"We used flaming arrows, bazookas, mines, and pyrotechnics against them." Mitchell stated as he doodled with a stick in the dirt. "Using an elephant to destroy our house is just as fair."

Maurananei grumbled and folded her arms, admitting defeat. "What do you think the next challenge is?" she asked. Mitchell shrugged his shoulders and Caroline coughed. Trey sat up on a boulder, tuning his guitar. "I dunno, man. Probably something that's gonna kill us." Maurananei frowned. "As if that's any help at all."

"WOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Maurananei glanced up to see a small, stuffed dummy wearing an orange hoodie and large glasses come flying through the air at a break neck pace. Upon closer inspection, it revealed to be Alan, his face a deep shade of purple and his arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Maurananei quickly jumped and stumbled around for a few seconds with her arms up before Alan crashed landed into her arms, knocking both of them to the dirt. "Thanks . . ." Alan moaned as he sat up on top of Maurananei, his hands unconsciously on her breasts.

"You have three seconds to get your grubby hands off of me before I send you flying back to wherever you just came." she growled, throwing an dark glare at Alan. The small boy quickly retreated and cowered behind a rock, having seen his life just flash before his eyes like a silent movie. Maurananei glared after him and picked herself up, dusting off dirt and leaves. "Where's Hade's Daughter?" Maurananei asked, looking around the dark, dank cave they called home. After their first structure had been destroyed, the Extreme Eagles had relocated to a nearby cave, most possibly used by the previous contestants of Pahkitew Island.

"I'm up here!" Mortisha's echoed through the cave, drawing everyone's eyes to the roof of the formation to see Mortisha hanging by her feet with her cloaked draped over her like a vampire. All around were hundreds upon thousands of bats, all chattering and squeaking away. How no one noticed them in the first place was anyone's guess. "How'd you get up there?" Trey asked her. Mortisha merely shrugged and jumped down to the floor of the cave with ease, landing on her hands and pushing up so that she did a flip before landing on her feet. "Ahhh, reminds me of the bat colonies beneath our house." she sighed as a couple bats flew by. Everyone else ducked as the winged animals flapped past them so close you could practically feel their fur.

"Just what kind of house do you live in?" Mitchell asked her. Mortisha shrugged and began to list off features of her home that included (but not limited too) a personal graveyard, a private swamp complete with quicksand, a dungeon in the basement that led to the sewers, and an assortment of unusal and dangerous pets. "You seriously own 11 venomous snakes?" Maurananei asked her. "_And _you routinely shoot your brother out of a cannon?"

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I've seen some pretty big freaks in my life." Maurananei said. "But she is the biggest one of all! Well, except for Izzy. That girl is more than a few sandwiches shy of a picnic." she said, shivering at the thought of Izzy suddenly appearing.

_**End Confessional**_

"Attention fresh meat!" Chris's voice yelled over the loud speakers. "Meet me at the beach in 10 minutes! Oh, and bring your bathing suits, too!"

"Great. On the bright side, we still have our luggage." Maurananei grumbled, moving toward the back of the cave to where a pile of suitcases and bags lay scattered about. She knelt down to open a dark green suitcase with three red claw marks painted on the front. She opened it up and pulled out a two piece, purple bikini and white flip flops, and walked out of the cave to change. She was soon joined by the other girls, and a quick death glare at Alan, they were all dressed and ready to get wet.

* * *

"Today's challenge is all about using all your other senses other than your eyes," Chris announced to the swimming wear clad teens. "Part 1 of the challenge is to find a key, using any other sense than your peepers! The key is hidden at the bottom of the lake, among several other keys that are completely useless. Each team will send in one player at a time, but each contestant _must _go in at least _once. _Once you have a key, climb back onto the dock and run over to the treasure chest over yonder," said the host with his trademark grin, pointing to a large treasure chest on top of one of the island's 1,000 ft tall cliffs. "When one team finds the right key, they will get a leg up in the next challenge!" Chris announced with excitement. "What's the catch?" Alex asked, suspicion all over his face. The same feeling was soon on all the other contestants faces. "What? Me add some unexpected and most likely deadly twist to the game?" Chris asked in mock hurt. The players glares only deepened. "Fine. Way to spoil the surprise," Chris whined. "To keep things interesting, we have brought back the classic nemesis's of the cast of Total Drama: the freshwater man-eating sharks!" Everyone moaned and complained.

WWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!

Everyone covered their ears as Chris used his air horn to silence them. "ZIP IT!" he roared. "Your challenge begins . . . . . NOW!" he announced, sounding off the air horn for a second time. Everyone quickly ran to the end of the dock, both Trey from the Extreme Eagles and Alex from the Rampaging Rhinos diving into the water to begin their search. "We got this one in the bag," Kiko smiled. "Alex is a surfer, and Micheal can just turn into a dolphin or something!" The Rhinos cheered, their victory assured. "Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention that I'm allowing Micheal only **3** transformations for the entire challenge!" Chris announced as he climbed up into a lifeguard chair to watch. The Rhinos groaned. Just then, Alex came up with a key shaped like a skull. He quickly ran off the docks and through the forest, skillfully avoiding several logs and rocks that appeared in his way, before running up the cliff, making it to the top 10 minutes later. "Who's next?" Kiko asked.

"How about Micheal?" Zelda suggested. "No!" Toni cried. "Even if he turns into an animal that can find the keys, we won't know if it's the right key!" Everyone's faces fell, and Anuok walked to the end of the dock and dove in, disappearing beneath the surface of the water. The silent girl swam through the murky water of the lake, swimming past schools of fish and cranky crabs that sat on the lake bottom. Several keys glinted in the sunlight that shone through the water, catching Anuok's eye. She quickly decided on a key and began to swim to the surface, low on oxygen. She was almost there when she saw something out of the corner of her vision. It was a shark!

Anuok screamed a silent yell and swam in the opposite direction hoping to ditch the shark in the process, but it was hopeless. No matter where she went, through caves, through seaweed, even through a sunken ship, the beast was still behind her and closing. Just when she thought she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen and become a shark's mid morning snack, there was a flash of light overhead and she felt something else enter the water. She was barely even thinking as she suddenly appeared on the surface, her skin pale as she gasped for breath. She blinked her eyes, forcing the water of them and looked around. On the shore was her team, cheering. Chris and the Extreme Eagles were just staring at something behind her, slack jawed. Anuok dared a peek behind her to see a 23 ton _Spinosaurus _behind her, its long jaws dipped in the water. Anuok didn't question the sudden appearance of the beast and quickly swam to shore, pulled herself up onto the dock, and began running to the chest.

"Yeah! Get em, Micheal!" Toni yelled as the _Spinosaurus _suddenly drew to its full height of 27 ft with the shark that tried to eat Anuok flopping around in its mouth. _Spinosaurus _gave a sudden movement of his head, and the shark slipped closer to going down his massive throat. "Noooo!" Chris yelled in desperation, jumping off his lifeguard chair and onto his knees, clasping his hands together tightly. "Please! Don't do it!" he begged. The dinosaur seem to consider the tiny human that was before him for a moment before it twisted its head to the side and back, letting the shark go from its mouth as it did. The carnivorous fish flew the air and off into the distance, safely out of the danger of being eaten. The _Spinosaurus_ roared and stalked back onto the shore, every step it took shaking the island. Chris breathed a sigh of relief and climbed back into his lifeguard chair, trying to pretend that he hadn't just begged one of the contestants not to do something. Everyone else snickered as Micheal, still in _Spinosaurus _form, stalked back behind his team., covering all of them in his shadow.

"That's one transformation down!" Chris announced. "Choose your next one wisely!" The dinosaur glared at him and growled, sending shivers down Chris's spine. "Where do you even get dinosaur DNA?" Zelda asked Micheal. "The Dinosauria family went extinct 65 million years ago!" The _Spinosaurus _shrugged its large arms in a human like fashion. Zelda was about to ask more when Anuok came running out of the woods, with a ticked look on her face. Just as she slapped Micheal's ankle, signaling for his turn, Trey jumped out of the water and began running for the trees.

_**Confessional**_

"Other than having my own band, I'm also on the swim team," said Trey as he tuned his guitar. "Mostly because I can hold my breath for a long time. Guess I must have large lungs or something. Which would also explain my sonic yells, now that I think about it." the musician said as he put two and two together.

_**End Confessional**_

With a tremendous splash that soaked everyone to the bone the _Spinosaurus _entered the water, its large sail stick up out of the water like a giant fin. The sail moved about for a few minutes for the the dinosaur resurfaced with a key between its lips. "Great," Kiko sighed. "How's he supposed to open the chest when he's the size of a train and doesn't have any thumbs?" "Chris, can one of us go with Micheal to help him open the chest?" Toni asked. "Hmmm. Let me think . . . . . NO!" Chris yelled with a wicked laugh afterward. Everyone glared at him, Micheal growling menacingly. "You know Chris, Micheal could just _eat _you if he wanted to. Chef wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him from doing so." Zelda said, an evil grin crossing her face. Chris's face paled silently, and he quickly sent Micheal on his way, with Zelda on his back.

The duo tromped through the forest at a fast pace before making their way up the cliff side, thankful that they didn't have to do it from the _other _side, with it's sheer 1001 ft drop. As they stomped up the hill, a loud BANG! went off to Micheal's right, and sudden wave of heat nearly sent them tumbling. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zelda cried as Micheal swerved through the now numberous explosions on the hill.

"Let me guess . . . . you had some left over mines and you hate to waste some good pyrotechnics." said Kiko with a wicked smile on her face. "You know it!" Chris chuckled as Zelda's screams and Micheal's roars echoed across the island. As the rest of the Rhinos glanced nervously at each other, Trey came running back from the woods and slapped Maurananei's waiting hand. She quickly dove into the water and began to search for a key, using her hands mostly to try and find it. Quickly located one hooked around the bony finger of a skeleton wearing an intern's shirt and swam upward. A sudden movement to her left and she suddenly thrust her fist forward, socking the shark in the nose, stunning it for a few seconds. She quickly resurfaced and climbed onto the dock as a charred Micheal and Zelda returned to the dock. "Your turn, Kiko." Micheal coughed as his watch changed him back to his human form. Kiko rolled her eyes and planted her feet firmly on the dock. "I had to slog through a mosquito filled, gator crawling swamp stocked to the brim with slime last challenge!" she growled. "There is no way I'm diving head first into a leech filled, shark infested lake with the infamous Chris McClain as our lifeguard." Everyone glared at her. "You have got to be kidding me." Micheal said, pitching his brow. "I just ran up a 1001 ft tall cliff with Zelda on my back, through exploding mines layed out by a mad man, and you're telling me that you aren't diving into a simple hole filled with water!?" he roared. Kiko huffed and turned her back away from her team. 10 seconds later, Kiko found herself at the bottom of the lake, with Micheal, Alex and Reese dusting off their hands in satisfaction.

_**Confessional**_

"That was actually kind of theraputic," Toni sighed. "The girl's started to grind my nerves for a while now. Last night she 'accidentally' dropped a soda can full of fire ants into my bean bag chair in the Hangout of Awesomeness last night. Couldn't stop scratching my butt all night!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Did I just seriously miss Kiko getting dunk in the drink!?" Maurananei pouted, until a smile crossed her face. She quickly got up and posed a sexy pose in front of the camera. "Do you like what you see Chefy Wefy? I could show you even more if you want . . ." she said, slowly untying the straps of her bikini. The camera quickly flashed out before Maurananei could take anything else off.

_**End Confessional**_

Growling and cursing under her breath, Kiko dove beneath the lake and resurfaced a few seconds later with a key shaped like Chris's face. "Please tell me that the key with your ugly mug on it isn't the one we're looking for." said Kiko. Chris merely grinned, but the wild look in his eye and scary smile he gave said it all. Kiko shuddered and ran through the woods with the key in hand as Maurananei returned. "Kiko has the winning key!" Caroline cried.

"Who told you!?" Chris demanded. Everyone gave him a 'you can't be serious' look before all running after Kiko, the Eagles determined to steal the key and Rhinos determined to defend it. Micheal reached for his watch and was about to hit the activation button when Zelda's hand quickly snapped to Micheal's wrist. "We need to save up those transformations." she told his confused look. The duo quickly followed their team and tackled Maurananei to the ground just as she was about to grab Kiko's foot. "Get off of me, weaklings!" she hissed, pushing Micheal off of her, but not before he socked her in the jaw, a slight sign of remorse in his eyes. Maurananei however, didn't catch it and roared like a bear before pouncing on Micheal.

_**Confessional**_

Micheal sat on the confessional toilet, trying not to pass out from the wretched smell. "I don't like to punch girls," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "If it's a villianess trying to take over the world with giant robot monkeys, sure, I'll punch her lights out. Any other girl? No. Unless they _really _set me over the edge." Micheal said, thinking of such an incident.

_**End Confessional**_

The rest of the group rushed past the brawling Zelda, Micheal, and Maurananei as Kiko began her run up the cliff, her cheeks flushed red. "And it looks like both teams are doing anything they possibly can to keep the other from reaching the top of the cliff! Anything's legal! Except death! Don't want to be responsible for anything not worth suing for." Chris chuckled nervously as he watched the teens beat the crap out of each other. Trey began to play another rock solo on his guitar, briefly drawing the Rhino's attention until a pressure point between his neck and ear was pressed by Anuok, slipping him into unconsciousness. Toni was soon kept busy by a flame throwing Mitchell, and Reese was literally thrown out of the battle by a giddy Mortisha, who seemed to love beating the tar out of him. The Rhinos cast pitied glances as they past him and Mortisha, with the later, force feeding him mushrooms freshly torn off of a pine tree. Alex was soon engaged in a slap fight with Alan as Anuok and Caroline squared off. Caroline tried to look frightening, but was soon sent into a retreat by a far more intimidating Anuok. Caroline screamed as Anuok ran after her, determination in her eye.

_**Confessional**_

"Yeah, pretty much anything physical I can't do," Caroline says. "Unless you count running, climbing, and lifting heavy animals. One time, I lifted a full grown horse over my head! Take that, Rodney!" she yells at the camera, referring to last season's 'ladies man'.

_**End Confessional**_

"Attention, dorks of all shapes and sizes!" Chris yelled into his megaphone. "As much as I like to see you all suffer, and at the hands of each other no less, but Kiko has already won the challenge for the Rampaging Rhinos!" The Rhinos cheered as Kiko stood triumphantly on top of the treasure in her white bikini. The Eagles groaned and cursed, ending their separate battles and grouping together into their teams. "Meet in 15 minutes at the junk pile from last challenge." Chris instructed to them. "Wait!" Zelda cried, nursing a black eye from her battle with Maurananei. Micheal had received a bruised arm and several cuts in the scuffle, and Maurananei had walked away with only a bruise on her forehead.

"What's our prize!?" she ordered. Chris glared at her. "You'll find out in the next challenge. That is, if you're up for it." he told her, laughing manically at the end and drawing looks of worry and fear from the contestants.

* * *

"Tell me why we're still in our bathing suits!?" Maurananei whined. "Not that I'm complaining much." she added when she saw Chef, sending shivers down his spine. Chris sighed and continued on. "Anyway, your next challenge is to hunt for the most dangerous, most elusive, more freakish animal known to man!" Chris said with hatred in his eyes. "His name? Ezekiel!" Everyone gasped. "Didn't get blown up with the island in season 5?" Kiko demanded. "Sadly, he didn't." Chris growled. "Instead, he somehow ended up here and has been stalking me ever since last season. You lucky teens get to go out into the woods with nothing but your bathing suits, and hunt him down!" Everyone immediately began to whine and complain until Chris blew his air horn for the 3rd time. "Zip it! Now, since the Rhinos won the last challenge, they get these nifty, automatic loading blasters filled with tranquilizer darts!" Chef tossed the Rhinos their weapons, Reese collapsing under the weight of his until Anuok took it for him with ease, earning a sigh from Reese. "The Eagles get these teeny tiny blasters from which they can only fire one dart at a time." The eagles groaned as they were tossed their weapons. "The last we saw of Zeke the Freak, he hiding somewhere in the woods," Chris said. "Be careful when you go in there, as the inhabitants might not want you there. Oh, and Chef placed about a bazillion booby traps to try and catch Zeke." The teams groaned once more before Chris blasted his air horn. "Man! Do I love this thing! Your challenge begins as soon as I fly to a safe distance away from this island. GO!" Chris yelled as he climbed into his personal helicopter manned by Chef. The craft flew up to a thousand feet above the island before Chris blasted the air horn through his megaphone.

_**Confessional**_

"First chance I get, that air horn is going bye bye." Kiko growled.

_**End Confessional**_

"Eagles! This way!" Maurananei commanded as she clipped her blaster to a small belt around her waist. "And try to avoid any traps!" The Eagles went for a solid 10 minutes before they had to stop and rescue Alan from a snare trap that pulled him up a dozen feet and left him hanging there. One could almost here Chef and Chris laughing. Maurananei growled and gave the tree Alan was strung up in a solid punch before Alan came crashing down, moaning his thanks into a pile of wet leaves. As Mortisha and Trey helped him up, a small bluebird landed on Caroline's shoulder and began to sing its sweet song. Caroline smiled. "What's that? You've seen Ezekiel?"

The bird tweeted before flying off. Caroline smiled again as Maurananei starred at her flabbergasted. "Can you seriously talk to animals?" she asked the small girl. Caroline nodded with a broad smile on her face. "Mr. Sweetywings said that Ezekiel was over by the beaver dam, bullying the poor beavers."

_**Confessional**_

"Am I seriously the only one who doesn't have super powers around here!?" Maurananei howled angrily. "There's Mitchell the Living Barbecue, Micheal the One Man Zoo, Trey the Sound Barrier Breaking Rockstar, and now Caroline the Female Dr. Doolittle!"

_**End Confessional**_

"C'mon, Micheal! Turn into a dog or something! Maybe you can pick up Zeke's scent!" Kiko coaxed the watch wearing teen. Micheal shook his head. "I've only got 2 more transformations left. We need to save those up. And I seriously do not want to smell Zeke. When was the last time you think he took a bath?" he said, sending shivers down everyone's spine. "Point taken." Kiko agreed, not pushing the matter any further. However, one could almost see the envy in her eyes as she eyed the powerful device that resided on Micheal's wrist.

_**Confessional**_

"I've got to get my hands on that watch," Kiko said, pounding her fist in her hand for emphasis. "Fortunately, I know a little pink genius who owes me a favor. Micheal will never suspect a thing." she said with a devilish look in her eye.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Something about Kiko bothers me," stated Toni. "The way she's been eying everyone like their plump gazelles for the taking. Trust me. I would know." she said as her eyes suddenly became golden colored and cat like. In the length of a second, their back to their hazel color, making you think you might have been imagining it, as if it were never there.

_**End Confessional**_

"What does this Ezekiel look like anyway?" Reese asked Anuok. She quickly pulled out her notepad and began to furiously draw on it as the others looked over her shoulder. "Wait, Anuok. He had less hair on his head, and sharper claws." Alex noted. Anuok nodded her head and added the features to her drawing before showing Reese the picture. And what he saw frightened him.

It was a drawing of a boy of medium height with sickish, pale skin. He had only a few strands of wiry, greasy hair left on his head, and he sat on his haunches with his hands on the ground, like a front pair of legs. He was still dressed in his jeans and sweatshirt, which were ripped and covered in stains from who knows what. His bare feet and hands were deformed and had razor sharp claws at the ends. His teeth were sharper, and bits of toxic saliva that ate away at the ground beneath his feet dripped from his mouth, with a wild and crazed look in his eyes. Reese screamed and dived behind a bush. "Chicken." Kiko said as she pulled him out. He was soon back on his feet and reaching for his blaster when he saw a pair of eyes watching him, yellow and catlike in appearance.

"RUN!" Reese yelled as Ezekiel jumped out from his hiding place in a oak tree. Everyone panicked and ran in the opposite direction as Ezekiel chased after them, snarling. It was only after he had chased them into a dark cave did they remember that they were supposed to be chasing _him._"Get him!" Kiko commanded, leveling her blaster at Ezekiel. The mutant teen paused and sniffed them curiously before jumping out of the way as a dart was suddenly shot at him. The dart embedded itself into a tree as Ezekiel jumped into the treetops and disappeared in a shower of leaves. "Alex!" everyone yelled angrily. "Sorry." he apologized, lowering his blaster. Everyone threw a glare at him as they left the cave and wandered through the forest again, forming a tight ring with Reese in the middle, Anuok, Alex, and Kiko pointed toward the front, and Zelda, Micheal, and Toni at the back. "Why am I in the middle?" Reese whined.

"Because you can't carry your blaster and Ezekiel scares the crap out of you." Toni answered.

"Fair point. Continue being my human shield." Reese squeaked, ducking down into the middle of the crowd. "Wait. Human shield!?" Kiko exclaimed. "Nah-ah. No way. If anyone's going to be shielded, it's gonna be me!" Kiko yelled, pulling Reese from the middle and shoving him into his spot. "Hey what are you – " Reese said just before a heavy bag of sand fell from the sky and landed onto Kiko's head. "Ow . . . . ." she groaned.

"Thank you, Karma." Reese said, folding his hands together.

* * *

"You said he was here. Why is he not here!?" Maurananei roared at Caroline. Caroline was cowering on the ground as Maurananei yelled at her. The others were searching around the area for signs of their quarry; tracks, saliva, trampled brush, etc. "Maybe I could ask the beavers?" Caroline squeaked. Maurananei glared at her before stiffly nodding. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and dove into the river, swimming toward the beaver lodge, silently thanking Chris for forcing her to stay in her yellow one piece. She was gone for a few minutes before she came back and crawled up onto the bank.

"Well?"

"They said he was heading toward the Northern end of the island last they saw of him." Caroline coughed. "They also asked us to kick his butt."

"With pleasure." Maurananei grinned evilly, cracking her knuckles. She ran off into the woods northwards, leaving her team behind. "Should we, uh, follow her?" Mortisha asked, pointing her blaster after Maurananei. The team thought it over before heading in the opposite direction, leaving Maurananei to chase the beaver's theory alone. The group of 6 teens stalked through the forest, flinching at every leaf and twig that snapped. They knew exactly how dangerous Ezekiel was. They had all seen the 100th episode that had taken place on Wawanakwa. And while they had all enjoyed watching Chris being dangled over a pot of boiling toxic waste, it didn't make it any less terrifying. The group would stop every now and then so Caroline could ask directions from unfortunate animals that had encountered Ezekiel.

There he is!" Alan yelled, pointing to a small lump that moved behind a bush, snarling and hissing. Before anyone could do anything, he lowered his small water gun like blaster and shot three darts at the lump, each containing enough tranquilizer to fell a beagle. Each struck with aimed precision, and Alan gave a small victory dance. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ezekiel. "SASQUATCHANAKWA!" Trey screeched, belting out on his guitar. The attack had no affect on the large ape man however, and the Extreme Eagles were forced to flee as Sasquatchanakwa them through the woods, roaring and pounding his chest like a gorilla. "Why does this keep happening to us!?" Caroline cried.

Meanwhile, Maurananei _had _encountered Ezekiel, and was currently chasing him through the woods while dodging what she hoped to god was mud. The little freak was hurling the wet globs at her with precision aim, hitting her everywhere. Soon we covered in a thick, brown layer of the stuff. "When I get my hands on you, you little monster, I swear I'm gonna wring your scrawny neck!" she roared. Ezekiel merely laughed at her from the safety of the trees, throwing another ball of the sludge at her. "RAAAAGGH!" she roared as she began to climb the tree Ezekiel was in. "That's it! No more Mrs. Nice Girl!" she roared as she clambered onto the limb Ezekiel was on. The little mutant jumped from the branch to the next of another tree just as three darts hit the tree where he had been seconds before.

* * *

"Do we _have _to carry her with us?" Toni growled. "Her snoring is driving me crazy!"

"And she's drooling!" Alex added.

Kiko, unfortunately, hadn't woken up from her accident earlier and was still as of late, out cold. So both Toni and Micheal had to pitch in to carry her, with Micheal holding her feet up, and Toni carrying her shoulders. "I mean, sure she's a grown woman and all, but she ways a ton!" Toni hissed. "Lets just hope we don't get into anymore traps again." Micheal grunted.

"Well, if you used that watch of yours . . . ." Toni trailed off. Micheal sighed and gave in. They weren't making any progress with Kiko out of the game. And who knows? Whatever the watch might give, might actually help them in their hunt for Zeke the Freak. The duo propped Kiko's body up on a stump to allow Micheal to access his watch. Seconds later, a red flash engulfed him and a large creature stepped out. The being was at least 12 ft tall and was covered in tough, red skin. 4, large, muscled arms hung down from his hard-as-rock sides as he stood on two powerful legs. He wore black shorts similar to Micheal's black swim trunks and a white and red shirt similar to the one Micheal had been wearing before his transformation. Four golden eyes sat on the front of his noseless face as a large, short beard and mustache covered his lower jaw. "That's new." Zelda commented as everyone starred at him in shock.

"Yes!" the large alien cheered. "I love this guy!"

"Can he carry Kiko?" Toni asked. The alien nodded and hefted the woman over his shoulder with ease. He picked up his blaster and strapped his over his back. "Can you also carry my blaster?" Reese wheezed. Micheal nodded his head and picked up the weapon in his hand and loaded it, ready to shoot at a moments notice. "Yes! With this hulking mass of muscles and bones, we have a much more substantial chance of catching Ezekiel sooner than the Eagles will!" Zelda shouted. The others cheered and grabbed their weapons. Anuok scribbled something on her notepad and handed it to Reese to read. "Anuok wants to know if you can do anything else to help us." he said to Micheal. The large alien thought over for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Oh, yeah! Nisilaha are awesome trackers, some of the best hunters in the galaxy!" he exclaimed. He quickly got down to his knees before sniffing the ground and pointing East. "That way. I can smell the little vermin from a mile away."

The team ran in the direction that Micheal had indicated, Micheal running ahead to make sure they were still on the trail, more than once "accidentally" hitting Kiko's head against a tree branch. He was sure she was going to wake up with one killer headache. _If _she woke up. "Do you hear something?" Alex stopped, the rest of the group stopping as well. "It sounds like someone screaming . . . ." Zelda said just as the Extreme Eagles came running out of a stand of trees as if their butts were on fire. Both teams collided and fell to the ground. "What is wrong with you guys? Can't you see where you're going!?" Toni yelled as she rubbed her sore head. Kiko had gone flying from Micheal's grasp and landed in a tree upside, still asleep.

"Running . . . . . Sasquatchanakwa . . . ." Caroline said.

"What's a Sasquatchanakwa?" Micheal asked as he stood up and strapped both of his blasters back onto his back. His question was soon answered when the giant ape came crashing through the forest with a log raised over its head, ready to swat the pesky contestants like the flies they were. "Quick! Everyone behind me!" Micheal yelled. No questioned as they all crowded behind the Nisilaha. The Sasquatchanakwa raised its log a little higher before swinging down, expecting to hit the strange being before him on the head and watch it fall to the ground. Before he could make contact, Micheal grabbed the log in one hand and ripped it out of the ape's grasp as he punched it in the face, sending it flying back into a tree. He yelled a battle cry and charged at it, all 4 arms raised up and clenched into fists. The Sasquatchanakwa growled and butted its head into Micheal's gut, stopping him cold as he knocked the air out of him.

The yeti roared and tackled the Nisilaha to the ground as both were prepared to fight a battle to the death. "Go!" Micheal yelled to his team. "I'll catch up once I'm done with Banana Breath here!" The Rhinos quickly ran off while the Eagles sat there, stunned.

* * *

"Come here, you little monster!" Maurananei yelled as she jumped from branch to branch, copying Ezekiel's game. She had been chasing the little hooligan for what felt like hours upon hours, but were at the most only adding up to a half hour. As much as Maurananei hated to admit it, Ezekiel was beginning to impress her. He had alluded Chris and Chef's grasp for more than 6 seasons. And while he had been captured twice in season 3, he just kept on coming back for more, in the famed words of Chris McClain, "like a one man cockroach infestation". That meant she was going to have to use every trick she had picked up while she was on the streets.

Suddenly, the branch broke beneath her! Screaming, she plunged to the forest floor and landed on a wet pile of leaves. She groaned and began to pick herself up when the ground beneath gave out, plunging her once more to her doom. She landed a few seconds later at the bottom of a pit, filled with the wet leaves from above and sharp very uncomfortable rocks. She glanced around her and noticed several sharpened stakes in the ground, ready to skewer anything that fell in. "Good thing I missed those." she said quietly to herself.

"Really? Stakes at the bottom of a pit trap?" Chris asked Chef. "Isn't that just a lawsuit waiting to happen?" Chef shrugged his shoulders before both of them burst into laughter. "CHRIS! Get me outta here!" she bellowed, pounding on the walls of the pit with enough force to send rocks and dirt falling down. If Chris heard (or cared) he didn't show it. Maurananei stopped hitting the walls to study the pit for a minute. The pit was at least 10 ft deep, more than twice her height. There was nothing in the pit she could use to get back up; the stakes were too old and rotten to support her weight if she used them, and there was nothing else long enough to reach the top. "Hello?" she called out. "Anybody? Caroline? Trey? Mitchell? Chef? Mortisha? I'll even take someone from the Rhinos!" No one answered as she sighed and curled up on the bottom of the pit, little hope left. "Guess I'll just wait here until they come find me." she said to herself.

"Do you _(pant) _really think we _(pant) _should of _(pant) _left Micheal back there?" Reese wheezed as the team ran along. They had been running nonstop for what seemed to be an hour at the most, putting as much distance as they could between them and the angry Sasquatchanakwa. "I think _(pant) _Micheal will be _(pant) _fine." Toni gasped. "Lets rest for a minute." As soon as she said that, the team collasped to the ground, too exhausted to go any further.

"Agh!" Reese cried out after a few minutes. "I think I sat on poison ivy! Oh, _why _did Chris make us stay in our bathing suits!" he cried, scratching his bare skin raw. While everyone watched in pity as Reese used a pine cone to scratch his armpits, Anuok quietly began her climb up into a tree and crawled out onto a thick limb before assuming the lotus position. She closed her eyes, and breathed calmly, pushing out the noise of her team mates below. Her mind began to clear and she could see an image forming in her mind. It was of a large, red behemoth dusting of his hands in satisfaction before walking into the woods, in the direction she and her team had ran.

She breathed a sigh of relief. _So he's okay, _she thought. _Good. If my predictions are correct, we'll need him at a later date. _She pushed past the picture and looked deeper in her mind and saw a picture of Fang, the Laser Eye Starfish, and several other species of marine life all laughing and pointing at something, a loud wailing being heard over their laughter. Anuok smiled and pushed the image aside to look even deeper into the future. What she saw next shocked her. Down at the bottom of deep, dark, pit was Maurananei curled up into a ball as the light faded overhead and the moon and stars came out. She peered closer, and saw thin streams of tears coming from her eyes, flowing over her scar. On the pit wall next to her were 5 tally marks, signaling how long she had been there. Anuok gasped and her eyes flashed open, causing her to lose her balance and fall out of the tree and into the arms of an approaching Micheal. She landed with a dull THWACK! and blinked her eyes for a second before shaking her head. Micheal set her on the ground as she quickly made a series of rapid hand gestures.

"Does anybody understand that?" Alex asked. Zelda moved forward and asked Anuok to repeat what she was trying to say once more. "Anuok says that we have to go rescue Maurananei. She's trapped at the bottom of a deep pit and there isn't anyway out." she translated for the silent girl. Anuok gave a thumbs up to confirm what she had said to be true. "Why should we help her?" Toni asked. "She's an Eagle, for crying out loud!" Most of the team nodded their heads in agreement. "But should we really leave her to suffer? Anuok said she was trapped down there for 5 days." Zelda argued. The team shifted uncomfortably. Zelda sighed. "Fine. We split up; a few of us go rescue Maurananei, and the others go hunt down Ezekiel, okay?" The team agreed quickly and split up, with Micheal, Toni, Alex, and Reese going off to find Ezekiel. Anuok, Zelda, and a still unconscious Kiko would go after Maurananei. "So, where exactly do we go to find her?" Zelda asked the mute girl.

Anuok paused and closed her eyes for a few seconds before pointing off towards the North. Zelda and Anuok each quickly grabbed one of Kiko's legs and pulled her along like a sled through wet leaves, mud, and much more . . . . . disgusting . . . . . things. "She is gonna be _sooooooo_ mad when she wakes up." Zelda giggled. Anuok smiled.

* * *

"Hello?" Maurananei called weakly for the hundredth time. "Anybody there?" She sighed after minutes of silence and lay down on the ground to rest. It was all she could do ever since she fallen down into the pit trap who-knows-how-long ago. "Maybe splitting off from my team wasn't such a good idea after all." she said quietly. "They're probably having the time of their lives without me around to scare the crap out of them."

_**Confessional**_

"I have a . . . . hard time making friends," Maurananei sighed. "I guess my criminal nature doesn't exactly make me the friendly type."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Splitting up was probably the worst thing our team could have done." Caroline said. "Not only did we manage to anger a Sasquatchanakwa, but we aren't any closer to finding Zeke, and the animals – sweet and helpful as they are – aren't very good at directions. Oh, I wish Maurananei was still here. I owe her from helping last challenge." said Caroline, remembering how weak and helpless she felt. At least the other team was nice enough to drop her off with her own team after they destroyed their shelter. "Oh, Maurananei! Where are you!?"

_**End Confessional**_

Minutes after Maurananei had dozed off she heard a scuffling sound overhead and shot straight up. "Hello? Hello? Can anybody here me!? Please, help!" she yelled, waving her arms around. A figure appeared at the lip of the pit, and a dripping sound started to echo off the walls. "Wait, is that . . . . ?" she started but was interrupted by a savage snarl. "Ezekiel!" she yelled. The little mutant was the last person she want to see, but at the moment she was kind of desperate. "Look, I don't like you, and you don't like me, but you have to get me out of here!" she begged, dropping down to her hands and knees.

Ezekiel cocked and eyebrow and grunted in confusion.

"I'll do anything!" Maurananei cried. Ezekiel smiled and his eyes narrowed as he eyed her.

"Does that mean you'll help?" she asked, to which he nodded. "Great! Get me out of here, and I'll do whatever you want!"

Ezekiel held up a claw and twitched it back and forth. "No? What do you mean, no?" Maurananei roared. Ezekiel smiled playfully, showing his rows of teeth, before puckering his lips. Maurananei shivered at the thought of what he was suggesting.

"Fine. I'll kiss you." she stuttered. "But only as soon as you get me up to the edge! I give you a 5 seconds head start, and then your butt is mine!" Ezekiel snarled, signaling his agreement. He disappeared for a moment before returning with a dead pine tree in his jaws. The needles were long gone, and what remained was a maze of sharp sticks and branches that acted like a ladder. Ezekiel threw the tree down into the pit trunk first, and Maurananei began to climb, cursing as she was scratched by the sharp branches, until she made it to the top. Ezekiel sat in her way, and Maurananei knew she was going to have to go for her. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips, forcing herself to inch forward until she felt greasy, dirt covered skin. Maurananei immediately recoiled, spitting. She jumped over Ezekiel and ran towards the nearest river to wash her mouth out as the little hooligan roared and beat his chest like a gorilla in triumph, running after her like a wild beast.

_**Confessional**_

"Kissing him was the most revolting, disgusting, most hideous thing I have ever done! Worse than that time I was dared to lick a toilet seat!" Maurananei cried, spitting onto the confessional floor. "And the worst part is, my Chefy Wefy won't trust me again! I kissed another man behind his back!" she cried, tears streaming from her face. "No! Get it together, Maura!" she said to herself. "You'll just have to win Chef back!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"I can't believe she _kissed _him!" Micheal, in his Nisilaha form, bellowed. "I'm not one to use manipulation, or anything, but if someone was looking for something to use against Maurananei, that would be it.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yeah, I saw Maurananei kiss the little freak," Alan admitted. "I ended up going in the wrong direction during the Sasquatchanakwa chase and saw the whole thing unfold." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Maybe I can use this to my advantage." he said, rubbing his hands together manically.

_**End Confessional**_

"Wow. _That _was unexpected." Zelda noted as she saw the whole scene unfold before them. "Guess we don't have to rescue her after all." A moan caught their attention, and they turned to see Kiko's still form move. She blinked open her eyes and rubbed her head, which felt like it had taken the place of a drum at a rock concert. "Oh, my aching head," she moaned, standing up on wobbly legs. "What happened?"

"You received a server blow to your cranium that sent you into temporal cognitive state." Zelda explained, receiving an odd look from Kiko. "You got hit on the head by a bag of sand." Zelda explained with a heavy sigh. Kiko nodded her head. "How are we doing on the hunt for Zeke?" she asked, hoping against hope that her team had gotten somewhere. "Unfortunately, we haven't had much luck. We found Ezekiel once, but Alex scared him off before we could fire." Zelda told the woman. She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to punch Zelda in the face, even though she had nothing to do with it. "He is so getting shot out of that submarine." Kiko growled as she walked into the woods. Zelda and Anuok ran to catch up with her, their blasters ready to fire. "You never know. Nobody's exactly happy for you being MIA for half the challenge." Kiko's eyes widened in worry before blinking back to normal. "We'll see about that." she said under her breath.

* * *

"Did we _really _have to watch the fight?" Caroline asked.

"Duh! Of course we did!" Trey exclaimed. "Too bad we didn't bring any popcorn."

"Too bad that Sasquatchanakwa stole your guitar when you weren't looking." Mortisha giggled as she remembered the surprised look on his face when the yeti snatched the instrument from his grasp and fled into the forest before Micheal could do anything else to him.

"Don't remind me!"

"All I can say is, that Sasquatchanakwa's gonna need a _lot _of sunscreen." Mitchell laughed.

"I know! I always knew they were hairy, but I didn't think they had _that _much hair on them!" Mortisha smiled. She was finally making friends with her team mates, barely containing her excitement.

"_Had _being the key word." said Mitchell drawing laughs out of everyone except Caroline. The small girl was laughing along nervously, trying to sound like she had enjoyed watching the fight.

_**Confessional**_

"I don't like to fight." Caroline sighed. "There I said. Go ahead and laugh at me. It's just, I can't stand the thought of two innocent creatures fighting each other for no reason." She sighed again. "I mean I know Micheal did his best to try and not hurt the poor Sasquatchanakwa too much, but why does Chris love violence so much!?"

"**BECAUSE IT'S FUN TO WATCH!"** Chris's voice rang out from the speakers. Caroline sighed again. "There really is a lot of sighing on this show, isn't there?"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Look, I _know _maybe shaving the guy was a _bit _much." Micheal admitted, his 12 ft frame barely fitting in the outhouse confessional. "But it was the least damaging thing I could think of! I only did that for Caroline's fragile mental state. Girl needs some friends, and if she's ready, then I'm willing to listen to her troubles and then punch them in the face! Anybody who loves animals as much as she does is okay in my book."

_**End Confessional**_

Suddenly, something dropped out of the trees and landed on the ground with a sickening THUD! Everyone quickly loaded their small guns and aimed it at the figure, waiting for it to move. "Is it Ezekiel?" Mortisha asked. "Nah, it's too wimpy to be him." replied Mitchell. "That, and it's wearing a pair of red swim trunks." The figure groaned and raised a shaky hand to help itself up. "Alan? What were you doing up in that tree?" Mortisha asked the dizzy boy. Alan gave a quick shake of his head to clear his thoughts (and vision) before answering. "I, um, got separated in the, uh, Sasquatchanakwa attack. Ran up a tree for safety and fell out when I heard your voices."

Everyone seemed to buy the story and proceeded onward without question until they came across another shape in the middle of a clearing. The figure was hunched over a small, unidentifiable pile as it snarled and slobbered to itself, as if it were talking. "Sssssshhh." Mitchell signaled, drawing his blaster nice and slow. The others copied his movements, waiting until the signal. "How many darts do we have left?" Mitchell hissed so the figure wouldn't hear.

"One." "One."

"Uno." "Eins."

"Great. Just perfect." Mitchell grumbled. "Make every shot count, okay?" Everyone nodded their heads and as one stalked closer to their quarry, their fingers ready to snap back on the trigger. The figure didn't pay them any attention and continued concentrating on his small pile. "What is he even doing?" Trey whispered as they got within a couple yards of the beast. The thing's ears perked up and it quickly spun around to face them, growling like a dog. It was holding something between its teeth, and guarding something at its feet. "Is that what I think it is?" Caroline asked with a trembling lip, pointing toward the remains in his teeth.

"Yep." Mitchell said sadly. "It's exactly what you think it is."

"What's left of Maurananei; nothing but her flip flops and bikini." Mortisha said sadly. "If only I could have gotten in on some of the fun, the lucky girl." Everyone exchanged glances before leveling their guns at Maurananei's murderer.

"FOR MAURANANEI!" Mitchell roared. Everyone fired their darts at once before throwing their guns aside and throwing themselves at Ezekiel before he had anytime to react. A cloud of dust and dirt was picked in the scuffle as the contestants all punched, slapped, clawed, and beat Ezekiel to a pulp, while also trying to defend themselves from his blows. Mitchell quickly lit his fist ablaze and socked Ezekiel in the gut as Caroline pulled at the remains of Ezekiel's hair. He screeched in pain as he clawed Mortisha's arm, creating four thin, red lines against her pale, white skin. Mortisha responded by biting him in two places (recoiling at the taste of Zeke in her mouth) and poked him in the eyes with her fingers. Ezekiel howled in pain and dodged a weak punch thrown by Alan before ramming him in the stomach, sending him out of the fight.

"He's getting weaker!" Trey cried, noticing a dart that stuck out from Ezekiel's back and another that sprouted from his thigh. Trey reached over his shoulder to grab his guitar, only to grasp nothing. "Right. Sasquatchanakwa took it." he said to himself just before Ezekiel kicked him in the face. The little mutant was gaining the upper hand as he grabbed Mortisha and threw her into a tree, much to her delight. Mitchell set his other fist on fire and stabbed it forward, aiming for Ezekiel's head, but the boy dodged and rolled all his attacks. He rolled like a ball as Mitchell fired another ball of flame after him and stopped as he grasped a tree branch. Mitchell fired another ball of fire, and Ezekiel swung his branch like a baseball bat, sending it back to Mitchell.

Mitchell's eyes widened just before the ball of flame smacked him square between the eyes, sending him spiraling to the ground like an airplane shot out of the sky. Ezekiel then turned to Caroline and smiled viciously. He knew that the fight was over. The trembling, quaking girl before him couldn't do him any harm. She couldn't defeat him, beat him, lock him in a cage like Chef had done (after several dozen tries that is). She was completely helpless, unable to even defend herself if so chose to attack her. "You . . . . nothin' . . . . . can . . . . . do." he snarled, barely forming human words with his deformed lips. Caroline gasped and fell back as Ezekiel roared and pounced at her, only to be knocked aside by a large stone that had hit him in the shoulder.

"Come on, Caroline!" Maurananei cheered from behind a thick bush, her head peeking over the edge. "Get him while he's dazed!" Caroline looked over at Maurananei in shock before something clicked in her head. She got up from the ground and stalked over to Ezekiel, who held his throbbing shoulder. She glared at him, pure hatred in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Never pick on my friends." she hissed like a snake before drawing her fist and socking Ezekiel in the face, an audible snapping being heard as his nose broken in two. Ezekiel sunk to the ground and didn't move as Caroline yelled in triumph.

"And the Eagles win the hunt for Zeke the Freak!" Chris yelled above the roar of the helicopter. Collective groans of disappointment and anger could be heard as the Rhino regrouped at their tree house to change back into their normal clothes. "The Rhinos will be sending one sorry competitor home tonight! Torpedo needs num-num!" Chris yelled. "And it was no thanks to Kiko!" Chris caught something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a glob of something white smear itself all over the helicopter windshield. The chopper shuddered as Chef began to fumble with the controls. It shuddered and jolted as something else hit it. Chris yelled as it went down through the air, the engine smoking. With a loud CRASH! the helicopter smashed into the beach below.

"What hit us?" Chris asked as he crawled out of the wreckage. Chef shrugged and removed a piece of wreckage that was trapping him. "Oh, well. At least my gorgeous face is still alright!"

SPLEK!

"Noooooo!" Chris wailed as another glob of the white stuff hit him in the head, ruining his perfect hair and facial features before the camera. "Wait, is this mashed potatoes!?" Chris yelled as he tasted the stuff. He quickly noticed that the entire water front was filled with starring fish, sharks, dolphins, octopuses, and Fang all laughing and pointing at Chris's misery. "Stop it! Stop laughing!" Chris screamed, running back into the woods, drawing the attention of the birds, squirrels, and other wildife as he ran by, screaming.

"Thanks for the prediction, Anuok." Micheal said, dusting off all 4 of his hands. "I have to admit that was pleasing." Anuok smiled as she, Micheal, and Zelda climbed down from the tree they had perched in. Anuok, having returned with Kiko and Zelda, wrote Micheal a note telling her of her prediction, asking if he wanted it to make it "come true." Micheal had agreed without hesitation, and had brought Zelda to help predict the amount of force, trajectory, and angle to throw the massive magnitude of mashed potatoes they had stolen from Chef's kitchen. The end result was _very _satisfying. "Anyway, who do we vote off tonight?" Micheal asked as he and the girls strolled back to the tree house. Anuok shrugged her shoulders while Zelda thought it out. "Perhaps we should obviate Kiko? She refused to jump into the lake and was asleep for a quarter of the challenge." Anuok once again shrugged her shoulders, unsure whether or not they should do away with Kiko. "I dunno. At least Kiko helped us before she got conked on the noggin. Alex wasn't exactly useful." Micheal said.

It was something to ponder.

* * *

"Alan, if I catch you looking at me, I swear I'll break you in two!" Maurananei threatened from behind another bush. Alan squeaked and to the base of a tree and began to climbing up, out of reach of Maurananei's deadly gaze. After Caroline had beaten the crud out of Ezekiel, the boy's had to walk back with their hands over their eyes as Maurananei had, unfortunately, been stripped of her bathing suit by a certain little, mutant hooligan who was currently residing in an iron bar cage. Needless to say, Maurananei wasn't exactly happy with walking back to their cave in the nude (she had threatened every camera man they came across. If any of them leaked the footage out to the press or didn't delete it, she would break every bone in their body. The camera men and interns quickly complied).

"Prepare to eat my dust tonight." Mitchell said to Trey. They were arguing over who would win at the latest Mario Kart game, and were already making bets. Mortisha and Caroline had also joined in the fun, with Mortisha siding with Mitchell and Caroline with Trey. "Whatever, dude." Trey sighed as he twiddled his fingers as if he were playing his guitar. "I just wish I had my bass back."

"Wish granted, dude." came a deep voice. Micheal with Zelda on his shoulder appeared through a stand of trees with Trey's bass in one of his giant hands. Trey practically screamed like a little girl when he saw it and ran over to Micheal and snatched it out of his grasp, more than happy to have his bass back. "Thanks, man! You're the best!" Trey asked.

"Aw, you're just saying that. Besides, you should really be thanking Zelda. She tracked Sasquatchanakwa down and grabbed the thing while I distracted Banana Breath. Poor guy won't be able to walk right for a week." Micheal laughed as he remembered the short fight that had ensued in the Sasquatchanakwa's cave. Trey grabbed Zelda's hand and shook it vigorously before going back to tuning his bass up, reveling the sound and feel of it.

"Why are guys being so nice anyway?" Maurananei asked as she out from behind the bush, back in a change of her regular attire. Micheal shrugged his shoulders, Zelda bouncing up as he did so. "Just thought Trey might want his bass back, that's all. Besides, I knew Caroline would feel bad about it, so I killed two bird with one stone, as they say. And it's just an expression, Caroline." he said quickly before Caroline could gasp at the thought of Micheal throwing a boulder at a bird and laughing about it.

"Whatever. Go back to your team before they decide to eliminate you." Maurananei said, rolling her eyes in disbelief. Trey thanked Micheal and Zelda one more time before they headed off.

_**Confessional**_

"I just thought Trey might want it back?" Maurananei said in a mocking voice. "Please. I don't trust those Rhinos farther than I can throw them. And if I was throwing Micheal, that wouldn't be very far."

_**End Confessional**_

"Campers. Tonight, for the first time, one of you will be going home." Chris announced as the bright warm fire lit up the Elimination Area. "And, you can't come back. _Ever._" The teens looked at each other suspiciously, most being thrown at Kiko, who glared right back at them. Zelda was cleaning her pink glasses while Anuok chewed nervously on her nails next to her. The Animatrix had changed Micheal back into his human form, and was currently in recharge mode. Reese glanced back and forth between Toni and Kiko, who were engaged in a glaring contest at each other. If looks could kill, those two would have been melted statues.

"When I call your name, come up and receive a marshmallow." Chris announced, holding up a tray with 6 fluffy, white marshmallows on it. "Anuok."

The silent girl smiled and ran up to grab her marshmallow, relishing in the delicious taste as she ate it.

"Zelda and Reese." The two contestants high fived each other and went to grab their marshmallows casting worried looks at Micheal. They relaxed when he was called up next, thankful that their friend was safe for another round.

"Toni." Chris announced. She quickly ran up to the tray of marshmallows and grabbed one, smiling slyly at Kiko's horrified face. It was down to 2 campers left.

"Kiko! You're in danger of going home for refusing to participate in a challenge and dozing off while your team mates carried your weight. Literally." Chris smiled as a flat screen TV popped up behind him showing the footage of Anuok and Zelda dragging her across the ground. Kiko threw a look at them, but they ignored it, having a laugh at Kiko's expense.

"Alex, you're on the chopping block for scaring off Ezekiel. That's pretty much it. Zeke Scaring." Chris said as Alex relaxed slightly. Kiko had many more reasons why she could be going home, so Alex was feeling pretty safe. "And the camper going home tonight is . . . . ."

Silence fell upon the teams as Chris kept them in suspense. Well, more silent than it usually was at an elimination. It was so quite, it seemed even the fire had decided to stay silent. The wind refused to blow past them, and the usual wolf howl that haunted the night was no where to be heard. The campers that were already safe, their fluffy marshmallows in their hands, glanced at each other, unsure whether Alex or Kiko would be going home tonight.

"Alex. You're taking a ride in the Torpedo of Shame." Chris proclaimed, throwing Kiko her marshmallow. She nearly fainted from relief when she caught it and stuffed it in her mouth, relishing its symbolism and taste. Alex sighed and got from his log, following Chris to the submarine that was dock at the pier.

_**Confessional**_

"Whew! Made it through another elimination." Kiko said with relief. "I guess I have to start pulling my weight if I want to stay in it. I'm gonna need that watch sooner than I thought. Time to get my little minion to work. She said, rubbing her hands together.

_**End Confessional**_

"Any final words, Alex?" Chris asked. Alex shook his head sadly and climbed into the capsule. It quickly sealed shut and Chef stuffed it into the launch tube. "Fire!" Chris cried as he pressed the remote control. There was dull boom as the capsule was fired, racing through the water toward the horizon. "Now that that's over, lets get rid of the trash." Chris said, turning to face a sleeping Ezekiel. Chef quickly stuffed the little monster into another capsule before he could wake up, and Chris pressed the button, sighing with relief as the vessel was fired off. "Finally. We got rid of him!" Chris said, just as a loud snarl echoed through the sub. "Wait, we _did _fire Ezekiel out of the torpedo cannon, right?" Chef shrugged and left the submarine, climbing up through the hatch. Chris shivered and sat down in the recliner, ignoring the nagging feeling in his head. "Well, either way. . . . who will go next? Who will be the best? And will I ever find out if I got rid of Zeke once and for all? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

* * *

"Zelda." a voice hissed. Zelda glanced up from her book to see Kiko from the doorway, gesturing for her to come outside. The rest of the team had gone off to bed, Micheal snoring like an elephant and Reese snoring like a hamster. Zelda closed her book and tip toed out to the deck, where Kiko was waiting for her, leaning against the railing. "Remember those favors you owe me?" Kiko asked slyly. Zelda nodded her head. "Well, I've decided to cash one of them in; I need you to make me a duplicate of Micheal's watch." Kiko said, drawing a gasp from Zelda. "But, I can't do that!" she cried. Kiko clapped a hand over Zelda's mouth. "Sssshh! Look, I just need one for something . . . . special." Zelda cocked an eyebrow. "Please? I need it! Besides, you owe me one!" Kiko argued. Zelda sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'll see what I can do. I'll need you to get a basic layout of it, before I can even begin making a copy." Kiko pumped her fist. "Yes!" The 2 girls crept back into the tree house, unaware that they were being watched from the roof. A sleek, black panther jumped down from the roof and landed on the deck with a barely audible thud. The cat slunk into the tree house and stalked up to Toni's bunk, its black coat keeping it hidden in the dark. All one could see of the big cat was its glowing eyes as the moonlight reflected on them, turning them an eerie green. A lump the length of Toni's bed lay under the covers as the panther tugged on the sheets, pulling them away to reveal several pillows. The black panther jumped onto the bunk and held still for a moment as its shape rippled.

Its ears became less pointed and moved down to the side of its head as its face began to pulse and swell, falling in some places and rising in others, as the face of a girl with mocha skin and chocolate brown hair emerged. The tail slurped back up into her spine as the black fur disappeared to reveal soft human skin. A bright red tank top and black shorts appeared as the leg bones ground and shifted into long legs and a pair of arms. The claws grew dull as individual fingers and toes appeared and the remnants of the fur finally vanished. The panther was gone. In its place was Toni in her sleepwear.

She yawned and crawled under the covers. "I knew there was something off about her."

**And there's the second episode! Please vote for who you want to go next by PMing me. If you have any constructive criticism about the story or your character (if they're in the story) please comment in the reviews below. If you have any ideas for challenges, _please _PM me. Seriously, I have no idea how the people that make Total Drama come up with those things so easily. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Skulduggery Pleasant book to read. Adios!**


	3. A Million ways to be Injured in the West

**Okay, sorry this took so long to write. I started out with a good idea, but it turned out horribly, so I went with this instead.**

**I also have exciting news. A reader who has loyally followed this story from day one has been nice enough to create some artwork featuring the entire cast! They have agreed to let me use the art as the cover for this story. _Tsukuyomu_, I thank you. Let me now how it's comin'!**

**Anyway, it's time to head back to Pahkitew Island!**

**Enjoy!**

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! We went for a swim to look for some keys that opened a chest, all without using our eyes! Anuok sank, Kiko refused, and Micheal and Zelda nearly went BOOM! Afterward, I sent the campers on a suicidal hunting trip to search for the notorious Ezekiel that has been haunting me ever since Season 3! In a strange turn of events, Trey lost his guitar to a Sasquatch, Maurananei made a bold fashion statement, and we saw a more dangerous side to Caroline that perceived! Alex took the Torpedo of Shame, and I didn't miss him one bit."

"Will I go easy on them this week? I seriously doubt it. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will be the next one to be launched out of the Torpedo of Shame? And when will I stop asking you these meaningless questions? Find out at the most dramatic bonfire ceremony yet! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris cried.

_**(theme song plays)**_

"Leave me to all the hard work," Kiko grumbled under her breath. "Go ahead and bath while I do the work that could kill me." The woman was trying desperately to sketch Micheal's powerful watch, in the hopes that Zelda could in turn make one for her. This proved harder than perceived. For one, Micheal was a restless sleeper, always tossing and turning in his bunk as Kiko tried to look at his watch. The slightest disturbance would alert him, and he instinctively activate the Animatrix, turning him into who-knows-what. That was something Kiko wanted to avoid.

The second problem was that the Animatrix was proving hard to draw. She could easily sketch the outside of the watch, drawing the symbol on its face and the way it hooked onto Micheal's wrist permanently, but she couldn't get inside. There wasn't any screws, bolts, or anything signaling a hatch to open to the inside. "Stupid watch!" she rasped to herself as Micheal rolled over again. Kiko cursed and crept to the other side of the bunk, only to have Micheal turn to the other side. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHH!" she yelled. Micheal didn't stir. Kiko dashed to the other side of the bed and grabbed Micheal's arm, furiously poke and pushing every spot on the watch, desperate to find the opening. "What is it!?" she roared, jabbing her finger into the face of the watch. The device gave a light beeping sound, and the face opened up, revealing the activation button and the wires and and other bits inside. "Finally." Kiko breathed, feeling a little silly. Quietly, she moved the wires and tubes aside to sketch the other parts on a sketch pad. Soon she had a crude sketch of the Animatrix, with the fanged activation button in the middle. Almost done, she moved aside a stubborn part aside, and accidentally snapped it off. Kiko winced and tried to move it back into place before stabbing the face of the watch again, closing the hatch. She quickly skittered to her bed and dove under the covers as Micheal yawned and rose from his bunk, unaware that his watch had been probed.

Kiko waited under her covers, pretending to be asleep as Micheal walked past her bunk and out onto the deck. She heard the sound of the rope ladder clattering against the tree trunk as Micheal climbed down. It wasn't until she was sure he was gone did she relax. She breathed a sigh of relief, not even realizing she had been holding it in desperation.

WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKK!

Kiko yelped and hit her head on the bottom of the bunk above her as Chris blew his air horn over the loud speakers for the entire camp hear. "Morning, campers!" Chris's annoying voice came over the speakers, as everyone covered their ears. "Meet me near the beach in 15 minutes for your next challenge! It's gonna be painful, so bring your A game!" Kiko growled and stashed the note pad in her pants pocket to show to Zelda later.

* * *

"Thank you for all meeting me here today," Chris began with his trade mark grin. The host stood on the dock of Pahkitew with his co-host, Chef, next to him. To their lefts sat a flat screen TV on a rolling stand, showing a map of the island. Twelve red dots clustered on the docks indicated the contestants, although there was nothing to show that Chris and Chef were there (tracking devices!?) "Like we had a choice in the matter." Maurananei grumbled under her breath. The host of the show was starting to grind her last nerve; not only he deliberately try to kill her and her fellow contestants several time over, he had done everything in his power to keep her away from her one true love: Chef Hatchet.

_**Confessional**_

"Oh! I miss my Chefy Wefy sooooooooo much!" Maurananei cried, balling her hands into fists as she sighed. "I've _got _to figure out someway to get to him! Which means getting rid of Chris. Hmmmm." she hummed to herself, until a plan formulated in her head. "I've got it! Unfortunately, it means I'm gonna need some help from those dumb rhinos," she growled. "But I will do whatever it takes to be with my Chocolate Strongman!"

_**End Confessional**_

"As you may or may not know, Pahkitew Island isn't what it seems like from the outside," Chris started. The contestants nodded, remembering what Scarlet had done to the island in her fit of rage; rocket trees, killer robot animals, mountains and valleys suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "The island is artificial, meaning it is controlled by this one remote." Chris claimed, showing the contestants yet another remote control with a large red button in the center. "How many of those things do you have?" Kiko asked with suspicion in her voice.

"Dozens." was all Chris would say. The contestants paled slightly at the thought of that many remotes controlling something, or several somethings, that could easily kill them. "Anyway, I will now demonstrate the power that I wield at my finger tips." Chris announced, dramatically pressing the large red button on the remote. The reaction was immediate.

The entire island rumbled and shook, as if an earthquake were occurring at that very moment. The contestants yelled and screamed in panic as Chris and Chef stood idly by, as if this happened on a regular basis. The large, looming mountains began to rumble and shrink, slowly descending into the electrical network of the island. The evergreen and oak trees were sucked back into the ground as deep orange sierras rose to the sky. Tall cacti and dried up tumbleweeds took the trees places as canyons and valleys began to form in the island's crust. A thick hissing sound could be heard as the air began to heat up until an unfortunate bird burst into flames overhead.

"Island Desertification complete." a computerized voice announced.

"What with the who-now!?" Alan cried as a rattlesnake slithered by his foot. The snake glanced up at him, almost debating whether he should bite Alan or not, who hid behind Mortisha before it could make up its mind. "What the heck did you do, McClain!?" Maurananei roared. Chris looked at Maurananei and the rest of the cast with a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' look. "I have just turned the once lushly covered Pahkitew Island into a searing hot wasteland I like to call, Chef's Heart!" Chris joked, earning him an angry look from his co-host.

"Today, you will be making like history's greatest cowboy's and bandits!" Chris announced as he donned a large, black cowboy hat, black boots, and a belt with a golden belt buckle of his face. "One team will be driving our stage coach rental from one end of the island to the other, while the other team does everything in their power to try and stop them from doing so." Chris explained, gesturing to an old, red stage coach with worn wheels and peeling paint. Several bags and suitcases rested on top, and the contestants quickly realized it was their _own _luggage, as a pair of reins hung limply on the driver's seat.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, now that's just an invasion on someone's private space." Kiko said with a disappointed look on her face. "You have just made it to all new low, Chris."

_**Change Confessional**_

"When I get my hands on him, I am gonna wring his **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **neck! Then, I'm gonna cut off his **BEEP! **fingers, before I shove them down his **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **Craw!" Maurananei roared.

_**End Confessional**_

"Soooo, how do we know which team gets which part?" Mortisha asked with little concern that her own suitcase was in danger of being destroyed. "This where we both go a little off book _and _get interesting," Chris said with a mischievous grin. "In every Western movie, there is a bar brawl of some kind. Since most of you are under age, we'll be resorting to the next best thing: wrestling!"

_**Confessional**_

"Ever since I broke Ezekiel's nose last challenge, I haven't been afraid to fight anyone," Caroline said with a hint of happiness. "I think I'm finally starting to stand up for myself!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Now, my _complete _random decision," Chris began, winking to Chef. "Members from both teams will face off against each other. The team with the most wins, will drive the stage coach while the losers try to capture it." The contestants glanced at each other nervously, as those that were dangerous and knew it (Maurananei, Micheal, Mitchell, and Mortisha) prepped for the up coming slaughter of those that were far weaker than them (Reese). "Caroline and Micheal, you're up first!" Chris announced, pointing to a plain pen surrounded by wooden fence. Several large rocks and boulders lay scattered about, providing cover from attacks. Caroline and Micheal both confidently hopped over the fence and walked to opposite corners as Chris watch them both with an evil grin.

"GO!" the host commanded.

Quick as a flash, Micheal activated the Animatrix and, without even looking at the hologram, slapped the activation button. In a bright red flash that blinded Caroline, Micheal vanished and was replaced by something completely different. The creature was covered from head to claw in bright green plating. It stood on two jointed legs that bent back with a thin film of webbing between the joints. The foot was composed of two sharp claws and another one on the heel. It had scrawny arms with three spikes on either one with two sharp fingers and a thumb on the hands. The creature had a large horn on its head, with two smaller ones over the eyes, making the large creature resembl ft tall grasshopper. The creature was also fortunately, wearing an odd pair of red, black, and white overalls.

"Cool! An Orthonopterran!" Micheal exclaimed as he glanced at himself. "I'm gonna squish you like a bug!"

_**Confessional**_

"Remember what I said a few seconds ago?" Caroline asked the camera as she shivered and sweated with fright. "Forget everything I said. I'm a freakin' coward!" she wailed, bursting into tears.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Okay, so here I'm thinking 'I can't let my team down or I'm torpedo food'," Micheal said to the camera as he scratched himself behind one of his horns. "Then I'm thinking, 'I can't exterminate this sweet girl I'm up against, she's already been through so much'. So what am I supposed to do!?"

_**End Confessional**_

With a faux evil grin that showcased a row of sharp teeth that fit tightly together, Micheal crouched low to the ground and sprang high into the air, disappearing for a brief moment in the sun's glare, before coming crashing back down to the ground, head first. Without even panicking, he crashed head first into a large boulder, shattering it into smaller pieces as a cloud of dust rose. Caroline crept closer, unsure if her opponent had just defeated himself when there came a loud "WOO-HOO!" Caroline screamed and ran away as the Orthonopterran rocketed toward the sky once more.

_**Confessional**_

"I can not _wait _to get my hands on that watch!" Kiko squealed. "An animal whose head is harder than concrete! Eeeeeee-eeeeee!"

_**End Confessional**_

"I don't think we're getting anywhere with this." Chris sighed after fifteen minutes. For the past quarter of an hour, Caroline had run helter-skelter around the pen as Micheal crushed everything inside to dust as he bounced around like a giant bouncy ball. "Squish her already!" Kiko yelled.

"You don't think I'm trying!?" Micheal shot back.

"No, I think you're trying to do a pathetic imitation of the Tango!" Kiko roared, thumbing a fist on a fence post in anger. Most of the other contestants watched with a bored expression, with the exception of Reese, Maurananei, and Mortisha. "Stop bouncing around and engage in hand-to-hand combat with her!" Reese called out. Maurananei shot him a glare and gave him a wedgie, drawing out a pained squeak from Reese's lips. Micheal gave a thumbs up (wincing as Maurananei gave Reese his wedgie), and slammed into the ground into Caroline before pouncing on her. The two rolled around the pen, bouncing off the fence posts like a giant pinball, locked in mortal combat.

"_(Ergh!) _Please don't _(ugh!) _kill me!" Caroline pleaded as the two tussled about, kicking up sand and dust as they fought.

"I don't want _(argh!) _to kill you!" Micheal grunted as placed a well aimed kick to Caroline's gut. Caroline flew back into a fence post, hitting her head hard with the wind knocked out of her. "Sorry!" Micheal hissed quietly. Before anyone could hear what he had said, he roughly grabbed Caroline by the shoulders and pitched her across the pen, her face skidding into the sand. Micheal quickly back flipped and landed right on top of her, her legs on either side of her body as he crouched low to the ground so that his mouth was even with her ear. "I'm throw the fight, okay?" he whispered. Caroline gasped. "Why?" she asked quietly as she spat out a mouthful of sand. Before Micheal could answer, she grabbed his wrists and her pulled her over her hand, throwing him to the ground. She then quickly pounced on top of him, her feet planted firmly on his feet and her hands pinned his wrists to the dust. "Because, I know what you're going through." Micheal coughed. Caroline looked at him quizzically.

"I know you don't have a lot of friends, for starters." he explained. "Not a lot of people don't care for an animal lover, do they? Not even your parents, right?" Caroline's face quickly fell; he had nailed it right on the head. She had never been very popular with the other students back home, and even the girls in her girl scout troop had teased her to no end behind the den mother's back. She had only ever truly been home at the animal shelter, where the stray dogs and cats never judged her. That was the thing she liked about animals; even with her ability to speak with them, they never said a harsh word to her. And here was a guy who was not only reaching out to her, to help her even, he could become any animal she had ever dreamed of meeting.

"So, you cool?" Micheal asked. Caroline startled, giving Micheal enough time to jerk his feet free from hers and shove them into her gut, lifting the small girl off of the shape-shifter and into the air, where she landed in the sand with a low thump. "Yes." she gasped as Micheal landed an inch next to her head. Micheal winked and Caroline roughly grabbed his leg and pulled him to the ground. As Micheal played coy, Caroline jumped onto his back and pulled back hard on his eye horns. "Up!" she commanded in as rough as a voice as possible. The Orthonopterran crouched low and rocketed upward, drawing a gasp out of Caroline as she glanced down. Then, as soon as they seemed to reach their maximum height, they came plummeting down, down, down back toward the ground, landing with a dull boom, creating a cloud of dust.

Everyone watched wide eyed as sand was flung dozens of yards into the air. As the dust cleared, a lone figure stood up on shaky legs and emerged from the large crater victorious: Caroline. The Eagles cheered as they pulled Caroline over the side of the fence and onto Maurananei's large shoulders. "I knew my girl would toughen up soon enough." Maurananei smiled. The Rhinos jumped over the fence and slid down the side of the pit to see a dazed Micheal lying on his back, covered in sand. "That girls got good." he coughed as he was helped to his feet by Toni and Zelda. Kiko just glared at him with an angered, yet calculating look in her eye.

"And the score is 1 to 0! Finally." he added under his breath. The fight had taken 20 minutes to complete, much more time than when Duncan and Courtney had dueled it out in a ball pit, or when Sierra, Courtney, Owen, Cody, and Tyler fought in Greece. Even the battle between Scott and Fang had been short. Short, but dramatic fights where the fighters were greatly injured was 'ratings gold'. Long, pathetic fights where the fighters played a not so friendly game of tag was 'ratings something else'. Chris grinned mischievously as the fighters for the next match came in his head.

"Now then! Reese and Maurananei, you're up next!" Chris announced as Reese gulped and Maurananei cracked her knuckles in a threatening fashion. "And remember: anything goes, as long as it's legal!" Chris said, Maurananei snapping her fingers in frustration, which only made Reese shiver and quake even more. The two contestants both climbed over the fence and into the crater that had been formed by Micheal. Reese, looked like he was going to both wet and crap his pants at the same time as Maurananei popped her fingers one by one, cruelly drawing out the time before the kill, a game of cat and mouse. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the cat was and who the mouse was.

"GO!" Chris sounded off. Barely had the words left his lips, had Maurananei charged across the crater, and slammed into Reese's brittle body, the sickening sound of something being popped out of place heard loud across the island. Before Reese could even scream, he was hoisted up in the air and brutally slammed down to the dirt before Maurananei jumped on top of him, driving her foot into the area between his shoulder blades. "Dude! You won already! Let it go!" Mitchell yelled, but Maurananei ignored him. "No! I'm not done yet! I want to make him suffer!" she hissed.

_**Confessional**_

"Ever since Ezekiel's been booted off the island, I've had a lot of pent up energy." Maurananei explained. "Sure, I could beat down a couple dozen trees or wrestle several bear bots, but there's nothing like hearing the satisfying sound of a real body screaming in torture as you slowly kill it. I would engage one of the other contestants, but the only one who would even have a remote chance of beating me is Micheal. When I fist asked him, he asked me if I had just gotten hit in the head with rock!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Maurananei! Let it go! You've won already!" Chris yelled as Reese screamed. Once again, Maurananei ignored the shouts that distracted her from her sick game. She had once been tempted to draw out her knife and make Reese's torture even crueler, but thought better of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chef, Mitchell, and Micheal preparing to tackle her, save Reese from her. "Time for the swan song." she said to herself. She lightly stepped off of Reese's back, giving him brief relief from the pain that coursed through his body. But it was short lived when he felt a bone crushing force suddenly slam into his back. What had happened was simple; Maurananei charged toward the side of the crater and ricocheted off of it, sailing through the air before landing with her feet planted on Reese's spine. The small boy howled in pain as Maurananei put a foot triumphantly on his skull, shoving it into the dirt. Before she could command anyone to take a picture of her, she slammed into by three large figures: Chef, Mitchell, and a Nisilaha. While Mithcell and Micheal kept Maurananei firmly pinned to the ground, Chef pried Reese out of the sand and slung him over his shoulder, rushing him to the infirmary.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced with a shaky voice. "Mitchell! Micheal! I want you to keep Ms. Terminator down for the count until the next challenge. Can ya do that for me?" Normally, neither teenager would have taken such orders from the mad man that had tortured them for the past two weeks, but they were willing to let it slide after what the banshee they were sitting on did to Reese. The two super powered teens slowly pulled Maurananei out of the pit. The girl made no move to struggle, but neither of them were taking any chances; Micheal had all four arms wrapped around Maurananei's own, binding them to her sides as Mitchell kept his his hands firmly around Maurananei's legs.

"Now then! Before we continue, we'll have a little break. Should be enough time for the interns to fill in the pit for the next fight." Chris disclosed. "And because Maurananei put Reese out of the challenge, she too will be forced to sit it out. And if her team loses, she _will _have a chance at elimination." Everyone on the Eagles gasped. Never, other than the time Scarlet took over the island and threatened to kill the previous cast, had Chris been so strict. Ordinarily, Chris would have been egging Maurananei, encouraging her to injure Reese as much as possible. He also knew that it wouldn't go over well the producers, not to mention the whole wide world. Chris could see the head line now:

WORLD REKNOWNED HOST RESPONSIBLE FOR NERDLING'S DEATH!

While Chris was busy thinking up excuses to tell the many lawyers and fans, not to mention emails, that would come his way, Kiko pulled Zelda aside as both members of the Rhinos and Eagles alike took the chance to walk to the infirmary to check on their injured cast mate; Micheal and Mitchell dragged Maurananei along after they had found a stray straight jacket, along with a coil of rope, several pick and combo locks, and a roll of duct tape, and used them to decapitate Maurananei, and prevent her from possibly hurting someone else.

"I got it," Kiko said in a hushed voice, handing her sketch pad to Zelda. The pink girl took it and looked over the many drawings and sketches, marveling at the intricacy and design of the device. It was like nothing she had every seen, every part working flawlessly to turn the host from one animal into another. "These are fantastic!" she exclaimed, forcing Kiko to silence her. "Unfortunately, I will need several DNA samples before you can wear it. We'll have to run some tests and-"

"What's DNA?" Kiko interrupted.

_**Confessional**_

"Seriously? She has no idea what DNA is?" Zelda exclaimed. "She's an adult for crying out loud!"

_**End Confessional**_

With an exasperated look on her face, Zelda explained Kiko's question to her. "Look, I just need you get samples from the animals on the island." Kiko looked confused. "but, aren't they all robots?" Zelda rolled her eyes. Some people were impossible. "You honestly think every animal on this island is fake? There's bound to be at least a few real ones. And if you can't find any, just get some off of Micheal was he's in morph and not looking."

The smile that was plastered on Kiko's face scared Zelda to no end. "Done. Just build the watch, and we can test it." the woman said as the teams returned, Micheal dragging Maurananei unceremoniously through the dust. Chris cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the teens. "Okay! After . . . . recent events . . . . it's time to get back to the challenge. Mitchell, why don't you tie Maurananei to that cactus over there? I'm sure you don't want to miss what's next." Chris said with an evil smile. Mitchell slowly complied to Chris's demand, completely creeped out by the evil smile on the host's face.

"Mitchell! Kiko! You're up!" Chris announced. Kiko, for once, didn't look confident as Mitchell's finger tips crackled with fire.

_**Confessional**_

"I can not _wait _for Zelda to finish that stupid watch." Kiko coughed. Her clothes and hair were singed black as curls of smoke drifted off of her blackened self. "There's gotta be _one _animal that's fire-proof!"

_**End Confessional**_

"GO!" Chris yelled. Kiko balled her hands up into fists and stood her ground as Mitchell calmly walked toward her, with a cocky smile on his face. "Surrender now, before you get burned." he said. Kiko rolled her eyes. "Please. As if I would take orders from anyone younger than me." Mithcell seemed unfazed by the insult. "Fine. Suite yourself." Before Kiko could ask what he meant, something odd happened. Mitchell closed his eyes, chanting something incomprehensible under his breath. As he did, his skin began to crackle and bubble, like lava. It turned hard and black like stone, as the skin between the magma rocks glowed red hot. Smoke started to curl off of Mitchell's hair before it suddenly burst into flames. Kiko gasped as the magma rocks quickly raced up Mitchell's arms to consume his body, racing down his legs and over his chest as red hot magma filled in the cracks between them. Mithcell's eyes glowed a hot yellowish-white as he summoned a fire ball into his hands.

"I warned you." he said in a voice that sounded like the flames themselves were speaking; chard, and old, devoid of any emotion. Kiko quickly dived out of the way as Mitchell hurled the fireball at the spot where Kiko had once been, the flames licking at the wooden fence like starving wolves. Everyone quickly jumped back from the fence as flames raced across them, preventing anyone from attempting to interfere. "What is wrong with these contestants!?" Chris cried as the sky turned red with flames. Kiko was at the complete mercy of Mitchell as he threw ball after ball of hot coals at her. While he hadn't deliberately done anything to harm her (yet), the flames were getting dangerously close as Kiko dodged and ducked for her life.

"Hold still, will ya!?" Mitchell yelled as he flew after Kiko. Kiko, meanwhile, had no intention of standing still so she could be barbecued. As she ran she pushed out all other thoughts and concentrated. Soon, she heard voices in her own head, calling out to her from the world beyond her mind.

"_She's gonna get creamed!"_

"_C'mon, Mitchell! Finish her already!"_

"_When is this old lady gonna give up!?"_

She was reading her fellow competitors thoughts. As far as she knew, there were only a few people who possessed the same ability as she did. Sometimes, her gift turned out to be a curse, other peoples thoughts screaming her head, giving intense head aches that kept her up for hours at night. This time however, it just might save her. And that last remark was like an adrenaline rush, making her faster and stronger. No one called her old and got away with it.

Barely even thinking she jumped into the air and landed on the burning fence. She quickly pried off a piece of the chard railing and sung it with all her might, smacking Mitchell in the face as he charged her. The force sent Mithcell flying back into the other side of the pen, where he crashed through the fence and into a saguaro cactus. "And we have our winner!" Chris announced as the smell of burning cactus filled the air. Mitchell winced as he pulled himself loose from the prickly plant. "Rhinos up 1, but the Eagles are still ahead by a point. Up next, we have Anuok and Trey! And will _someone _put out this fire already!?" Chris howled as a prickly pear cactus burst into flames.

"Now that's ironic," Mortisha laughed. The loudest and quietest competitors fighting each other to the death." Everyone looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "You do know this isn't a battle to the death, right?" Toni asked the creepy girl. "Suuuuure." Mortisha said with a sly smile.

"GO!" Chris yelled. Trey whipped out his bass guitar and let out an unearthly howl. Anuok crouched low to the ground, covering her ears as she did. As the sound wave passed over, Anuok leaped into the air, curled herself tightly into a ball and came hurtling back down. Just before she made contact with trey, her foot lashed out, giving him a swift kick to the jaw. While Trey was dazed, she rolled out of range and whipped two somethings out of her pocket. They twirled around in her hands for a few seconds before she held them between her fingers. "What are those?" Micheal asked, squinting his eyes to get a closer look. "They look like daggers!"

"Is there seriously no one on this show who doesn't have a weapon or super power of some sort!?" Chris panicked at the thought of all the law suits heading his way. Anuok ignored the comment and surged forward, her arms flung back behind her. Trey could only block with his bass, using it has a shield as Anuok slashed in an X pattern.

TWANG!

"Ah, man! Not my strings!" Trey whined. Before he could do anything else, Anuok jumped and gave a nasty scissor kick, her right connecting with Trey's jaw, and the other connecting with his nether regions. "Mommy!" Trey squeaked as slumped to the ground, clutching his coconuts as Anuok stood over him triumphantly. "And Anuok earns another point for the Rhinos, making up for a tied match!" Chris announced as Zelda and Alan carried Trey out of the pen. "Up next we have Zelda and Alan!" Chris yelled. "Someone call an ambulance, and quickly."

_**Confessional**_

"As much as I hate to admit it, I probably _will _cream Alan," said Zelda as she adjusted her pink glasses. "I'm trained in dozens of fighting styles, everything from judo to kung fu. I also know ninjitsu, and personally own two dozen different weapons. I personally brought my collapsible bo staff with me. Oh, and a couple cases of throwing stars as well. He's 死んだ肉."

_**End Confessional**_

"GO!" Chris yelled. Zelda quickly whipped out something out of her pocket and lashed it downward, the object folding out until it was about a foot taller than she was tall. She quickly spun it around in her hands, the staff nothing but a pin wheel blur as Alan watched with a glazed look. _She's got everything! Perfect body! Perfect personality! __**And **__she can wield a weapon to defend me! This gal's got it all! _He thought. "All that's standing between me and her, is watch wearing hero." he said to himself, just before Zelda pulled the staff downward, smacking Alan over the head. While the small boy recoiled in pain, Zelda swung low with her bo staff, sweeping out Alan's legs from under him, causing him to fall to the ground. Before Alan could react, Zelda firmly planted the end of the bo staff in the dirt and used it to propelled herself upwards into the air, where she threw four, shiny throwing stars in the time span she was airborne, the spinning blades hitting the ends of Alan's shirt and pants, pinning him to the ground. Alan struggled against them, but helpless against Zelda as she landed on his stomach, knocking the air out of him as she gave a series of rapid punches and jabs to Alan's face. By the time Chris frantically waved for Zelda to stop, Alan's face was black and purple, almost matching the time Micheal had thrown him clear across the island when he got to close to Zelda for comfort.

"And so ends the shortest match yet!" Chris reported to the cameras. "Rhinos are up another point, finally gaining a lead! Zelda, if you would be kind enough to release Alan from your death grip?" Chris asked the pink warrior. Zelda hadn't even realized she had been slowly strangling Alan with her hand, though for some odd reason, he didn't seem to be bothered by it. She quickly pulled out the four throwing stars with ease and slipped them into her back pocket as she folded her bo staff closed. "Nice moves," Alan coughed as he pulled himself off the ground. "Maybe you could teach me?" he asked. "Spend some quality time together?"

Zelda looked at him with disgust all over her face. "In your dreams, pervert." she growled, hopping the fence as Mortisha and Toni entered the ring. The two girls sized each other up; on one end was a short girl wrapped up in a black cloak that was impervious to almost anything anyone might throw at her. She constantly put her life and her family's lives in danger, and they enjoyed every minute of it. On the other end was a girl from Africa, who could move faster and quicker than any human alive; she had raw strength and power on her side, as well as highly developed senses. And if all else failed, she had one more trick up her sleeve that she was ready to deal. She had played her cards just right, and she wasn't ready to be dealt a hand she couldn't play.

"GO!" Chris yelled as Chef, dressed in a nurse's outfit, pushed an injured Reese in a wheel chair up to the fence to watch the fight. The poor kid was covered in bandages on his chest, head, and left arm. Hundreds of purplish bruises and welts were all over his brittle body. He twisted as much as he could to look at Maurananei, who was tied and gagged. The girl who had broken him hissed as best as one could with a mouthful of duct tape, and Reese screamed, jumping in his wheelchair.

_**Confessional**_

"It's official: I am now terrified of Maurananei." Reese shivered. "I used to have this fear of insects and spiders, but that seems pretty small compared to what Maurananei can do to you in less than 30 seconds. At least there's no bug _that _big. Well, except maybe Micheal. I swear, I nearly wet my pants when I saw that thing!"

_**End Confessional**_

Toni began the battle by running to her right, to strike at Mortisha's left side. Executed perfectly, she could have over a hundred different options of bringing her team victory; a quick upper cut to the jaw, the pinch of a nerve, flipping her over and shoving her face into the dirt. But it wasn't meant to be. As Toni approached Mortisha, she drew back her fist and thrust it forward, expecting it to connect with soft flesh. But it was not so.

Faster than Toni could have possibly anticipated, Mortisha dodged to the left, Toni moving right past her. She could feel three quick jabs into her spine by Mortisha's delicate hands. Faster than you could say "KO", Toni was face down in the sand, unable to move except for some twitching. "What did you do to me?" she gasped as Mortisha crouched down to eye level. "Simple. I attacked your central nervous system. It's only temporary, but you will able to send any command to you limbs for the next couple of hours." Mortisha said politely. "And I was really hoping there would be someone could actually hurt me. Oh well, at least I still have my Sugar Hero."

"Sugar Hero?"

"Micheal. He's been so nice to me! Ever since I've got here, he's been nothing but kindness to me! Whenever I ask him to throw me over a cliff, inject me with deadly venoms and poisons, or just plain maul me, he does without hesitation! I think I've found my soul mate!"

"Ever consider that he's just being nice? Or using you as a training dummy?" Toni shot back. She was slowly starting to regain some feeling in her fingers, but it would take too long for her to even be able to move her arms. Toni sighed. It was time to deal the wild card.

She closed her eyes, and shut off all outside noises as she focused on an image in her head. She had run through thousands of similar images, but this one was what she exactly needed. She focused on that same image, and felt the changes begin. The changes were slow, unable to react instantly because of the blockage in her nerves; her fingers shrank back into her hands until they were up to the first joint. Her fingers grew longer and pointed as a short webbing formed between them, barely visible. Her skin turned greenish brown as it cracked into hundreds of tiny 'islands'. Some of the 'islands' turned black while the ones under her arms turned a dull yellow. The changing was too subtle to see from a distance, but it would only be a matter of time before someone, anyone, noticed. She felt her face bulge outward into a pointed snout, as upper and lower jaw raced to cover the distance. Her teeth were quickly sucked back into her gums as hundreds of thick, white cones replaced them, jutting out of the jaw. By now, Mortisha had noticed and was watching with interest. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Kahin ahr utt." Toni managed to say before her tongue lost the ability to move and her vocal chords shriveled away to nothing. Her eyes moved apart on liquid skin until they were on either side of her head. They flashed gold as he iris turned into a slit of black. The green and brown scales began racing up her arms, hurrying to cover her changing face as a row of spikes raced down her back. At the base of her spine, she could feel bone forming as muscle rushed to cover it, and thick, scaly skin to cover that. It lasted for what seemed hours until she had a thick tail that was as long as her body. Speaking of which, it was getting bigger, larger as her legs shrank to match the length of her arms, now her fore legs. The scales finally covered the rest of her as every last piece of hair was sucked into her body. The transformation was complete.

Toni gave an experimental wag of her tail, kicking up a cloud of dust as it was dragged through the sand. She snapped her long jaws, feeling the millions of muscles in her neck force the jaws shut. Her beady eyes caught the surprised and feared look of her fellow contestants as she showed off the strongest jaws on the planet. _"Nilus crocodilian." _Zelda breathed as the large reptile gave a low roar and scrambled after Mortisha, who seemed to be playing a deadly game of tag with the animal.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I did _NOT _see that coming? Did you see that coming!?" Chris yelled, ignoring the rotting stench that lingered in the outhouse confessional.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Looks like I'm not the only one with shape-shifting powers around here." Micheal said with a smile.

_**Change Confessional**_

"A girl turning into a crocodile?" Zelda exclaimed. "It defies logic!? It defies all laws of physics! No living organism can just change into an entirely different species without some technological help! Everything I know is a lie! Everything I know is a . .a. . . _aahhhh . . ." _Zelda moaned as she slumped to the ground, her brain unable to comprehend what had happened.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Seriously!? Another super hero? _**SERIOUSLY!?**_" Maurananei roared.

_**End Confessional**_

Toni the crocodile ignored the yelling and cheering from the side lines as she gave chase after the tempting girl in front of her, using her cloak like a red cape to tempt the bull in a bull fight. While the crocodile wasn't exactly idle for high speed chasing, she was big enough to be able to cover the distance from one end of the pit to the other with a big lung. It was the only animal she had that could even cause the _slightest _bit of pain to Mortisha, who seemed to be impervious to any kind of it. One snap of the jaws, and she would have her meal between them, begging for her to stop.

Her prey was smart, she would give it that; kicking up dust to limit her vision. That angered her. She wanted to end the fight now. She _needed _to end it now, before the prey could escape and she would go hungry once more. That was what drove her forward. The hunger. It gnawed away at her stomach like a pack of hyenas, draining away nutrients from her mass and muscle to keep her going. She care if it tasted good or bad, she barely had any taste buds anyway. All she cared was it would fill her belly, provide her with nutrition, and give her the energy to live another day. That was how it worked in the animal kingdom; if you were weak, you become another predators lunch. It was as simple as that.

Mortisha, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. She had never even come close to having this much fun back at home! Sure, she had enjoyed the countless hours of stretching her brother on the rack until his spine popped, or the many happy occasions she had gone snorkeling in the piranha pool with her mother, or the times she had gotten lost in her father's trench coat, but all those activities paled in comparison to being chased around by a starving reptile that had once been a fellow camper. _Oh, how the universe works in mysterious ways!_ She thought to herself. She wanted nothing more than to jump between the jaws of the predator that chased her and let the corrosive stomach acids burn her skin raw, but she wanted to savor the moment. Toy with the beast long enough for it to lose its mind and succumb to instinct. Then the real fun would begin.

Unfortunately, the real fun would not begin any time soon. She suddenly tripped over a rock and tumbled to the ground, enjoying the feeling as rocks and cactus spines dug into her skin. She could feel the earth vibrate under her as the crocodile approached her, roaring in triumph as its jaws clamped over and around her waist. She loved the feeling as the crocodile shook its head like a dog, thrilled by the motion of the jaws, tossing her closer and closer to the throat. She was close enough she could have reached her hand through the throat flap when she the tossing motion stopped. The crocodile had stopped moving, barely even breathing as its jaws suspended her above the ground. Frustrated, she tried to pry them open, unhook the many teeth than dug into her dress and skin so she could go to town, but the jaws stayed firmly shut. "What are you doing!?" she yelled.

The crocodile ignored her and moved its eyes to look at Chris. _Have I won?_ they seemed to say. Chris stiffly nodded his head, and the crocodile gently lowered Mortisha to the ground and open her jaws wide, letting the frustrated girl crawl. "Why did you deny me the best time of my life!?" she yelled, furiously punching the crocodile's thick hide. The large reptile however, didn't feel it as it's mighty form began to shrink. The tough scales melted together, forming flawless, mocha colored, human skin. The stubby fingers grew longer and bent in half as the claws became short and slightly duller. The long jaws were sucked back into the face, the pointed teeth being replaced by flatter teeth as the eyes moved back to the front of the face. Fleshy flaps formed on either side of the eyes, becoming ears as the tail as slowly sucked back up into the spine. The short limbs became longer and more powerful as the creature was forced to stand up on shaky legs. The transformation ended when the golden colored eyes turned back to hazel. Toni had returned.

"And the Rhinos win, thanks to an unexpected gift from Toni!" Chris cried, tipping his cowboy hat up. The Rhinos celebrated, whooping, cheering, hugging each other tightly, doing horrible victory dances that were hilarious to watch, and even throwing insulting faces at the Eagles who watched them with jealousy. "That means the Rhinos get to drive the stagecoach!" Chris announced, ending the celebration as the Rhinos took another look at their cruddy carriage.

"For once, this is one prize I want to return." Kiko said.

* * *

Chris had quickly explained how the challenge was to work; one to two players would pull the stagecoach across the desert like horses, as another player would steer them in the right direct, thanks to a map Chris had reluctantly given them. The other players would ride on top or in the carriage, preventing the Eagles from capturing the stagecoach while the others drove. If the Eagles managed to capture/throw out all the campers except the ones pulling, they would win the challenge. "Any questions?" Chris asked, knowing full well that he would ignore them. For once, no one rose their hands, making Chris slightly disappointed as he pulled out a pistol. Everyone quickly jumped back. "You do know murder committed on national TV, even this one, is illegal, right?" Zelda asked. Chris rolled his eyes. They were too easy sometimes. "Relax, this fires blanks. Unfortunately." he added under his breath, Toni shooting him a deadly look. "Now, pick your horses and driver. You have a five minutes head start before the Eagles come after you on these!" Chris cried, gesturing to six horses who looked like they had seen better days at the race tracks. Their legs were short and stumpy, their manes and tail matted and tangled as hundreds of flies buzzed around them. "So! Get going!"

"Micheal and Toni should pull the stagecoach," Zelda said, reading a suggestion Anuok had written on her note pad. "Can't argue with that."

"I can," Kiko said, yanking the note pad from Zelda's grasp and throwing it back to Anuok. "We need at least one of them to protect us in case the Eagles attack!"

"But if both of them pull, we'll be faster than the Eagles will be. Need I remind you that their horses on long since over due for the glue factory? Micheal and Toni can probably change into strong, healthy horses that will keep us far ahead of the Eagles. We have this challenge in the bag!"

For once, Kiko couldn't argue with that, though she demanded that she be the driver. Zelda and Anuok carefully loaded Reese into the carriage, careful to make sure he wouldn't be in too much pain when the ride got bumpy. Anuok closed the door behind her as Zelda jumped up onto the roof, ready to stomp on any fingers that came too close. "Don't forget these!" Chris yelled, tossing each of them an oversized cowboy hat. Toni's and Micheal's were extra large, with slits on either side of the brim for their ears to slide through. "But we can't see out of these things!" Micheal complained. "That's the point." Chris said with a frown. Sometimes, the contestants ceased to amaze him. The two shape-shifters reluctantly put the cowboy hats on their heads and began to change, Micheal accessing his Animatrix while Toni concentrated on an image of a horse in her head.

Soon, a pair of brown mustangs were hooked up to the wagon, bits in their mouths and large cowboy hats on their heads. They nervously pawed the ground with their hooves as Kiko gave an experimental pull of the reins. "You'll have a five minute head start before the Eagles come after you," Chris added as the Rhinos made their final preperations. "Oh, and since Maurananei and Reese are out of the challenge, they're aren't allowed to do _anything. _Just sit back and try not to die, or you will be instantly eliminated. As in, torpedo food." Maurananei shot Chris a death glare, but the maniacal host ignored it. "On your mark! Get set! GO!" Chris yelled as he jabbed a finger into his ear and shot off the gun. Kiko gave a snap of the reins. The horses whinnied and reared before shooting out across the desert, leaving a plume of dust in their wake.

* * *

"Any idea where we are?" Kiko called back to Zelda. After a couple of minute of running across lonely plain, Zelda had rummaged around in several of the suitcases and found a map, hidden in her own pink suitcase of course. "I think we'll be about 1/8 of the way there when we take a left take the Chris shaped rock." Zelda said as she looked over the map. "Chris shaped rock?" Kiko wondered aloud. Where in the name of Chef's kitchen would they ever find a Chris shape-

"LEFT!" Zelda yelled.

Kiko jerked the reins to the left, causing Micheal and Toni to cry out in protest as the stagecoach swerved to the left, passing a large rock that looked similar to Mt. Chris-more from Season 4. "Man, he really does love himself, doesn't he?" Kiko marveled at the sight of the monument. Zelda turned away in disgust as she swung down to look inside the carriage. "How you guys holding up in there?" she asked. Anuok and Reese held onto his wheelchair with white knuckles, but none the less claimed they were fine. "Every time we hit a bump, I feel my insides jump around," Reese said in a sickly tone. "Other than that, I'm doing just fine."

Anuok merely gave her a thumbs up, and Zelda swung back up to the roof again. "If we keep following the trail, we should be able to make it to the other side of the island sunset." Zelda said to Kiko.

"Why sunset? Isn't that a bit far?" Kiko asked as she cracked the reins. The horses neighed in protest, but none the less kept running. Zelda shrugged. "I dunno know. Must be a big island." Kiko said and lay back on the driver's seat, trying to enjoy the bumpy ride through the rough terrain.

* * *

"Aaaaaaand, _go!_" Chris yelled. The Eagles turned to their horses, and attempted to saddle them. The horses however, had other plans. They quickly dispersed, running off in different directions. "Don't just stand there! After them!" Chris yelled, sending the Eagles scrambling. Mitchell and Caroline quickly caught and saddled theirs with ease, waiting by the starting line for the rest of the team to catch their own horses. Maurananei tackled her's to the ground and climbed onto its back before it could run away. The horse whinnied in protest, walking on shaky legs. Trey pounced onto the back of his horse and hung on for dear life as it bucked and kicked, trying to bounce him off. Mortisha managed to corner hers and grab it by the tail, acting like a water skier as the horse towed her around on the sand. "C'mon, Alan! It's not that difficult!" Mortisha yelled as she was pulled along. Alan gritted his teeth. If he ever wanted to impress Zelda, much less any girl, he had to get back on the horse, physically _and _figuratively. With a yell, he jumped at the stubborn horse, catching it by surprise as he wrapped his hands around its neck. "I did it!" he cried before the horse bucked him off into the sand. Alan groaned, but the horse wasn't done with him yet. With a swift kick of the hind legs, Alan went flying through the air and landed in the grasp of a large saguaro cactus. The horse snorted and clopped away. As Mitchell and Trey reluctantly rode off to help Alan down, Caroline went after Alan's horse, in the hopes that she might be able to convince it to help them.

She found the poor animal drinking from the lake shore, its tail swishing back and forth in the hopes that it might get rid of the many flies that rode around its head. Caroline sucked in a deep breath before gently urging her horse forward.

"Um, hello there." said Caroline nervously, bringing a hand up to wave at the horse. The horse jerked its head up in surprise as it looked at her with agitated eyes.

_You've got some nerve comin' after me, after what that jerk tried to do. _the horse said angrily.

Caroline gulped. "Well, yes. Um, sorry about that. Anyway, I was wondering if you could possibly help us across the desert?"

The horse tossed its head and rolled its eyes. _And what makes you think I'll let anyone ride on my back after what Manure for Brains made me do?_

"Alan? Oh, he's just–

_No, no, no. Not **that **Chicken head. I'm talkin' 'bout the big cheese. The guy who runs this whole operation he calls a TV show._

"Chris?"

The horse nodded. _The same. Ever since Chris let that big oaf Owen on my back, I haven't been able to gallop straight. Every season a challenge calls for a horse, they always use me and my bros. My name used to Roger. Now they call me Fracture on account of my __**broken spine!**_the horse roared. To anyone who had caught the two in mid conversation, would have heard a very angry whinny. _I'm just surprised James and the others let you guys on them, despite the many attempts to kick you off._

_Hey, don't insult her, dude! She's actually pretty decent!" _Caroline's horse argued. _"She doesn't over work me like Manure Face does every time he wants a laugh at other people's expenses!_

Caroline sighed. This was tougher than she thought. She was feeling mixed feelings right now; pity, sadness, rage. The thought of Chris constantly mistreating the horse made her blood boil. They could have been strong, lean horses like the ones Micheal and Toni had changed into, but after years of abuse and mistreatment from Chris, they looked like they were on their last legs. "Where does Chris keep you guys when you're not being used?" she asked, a plan beginning to form in her head.

_In an old stable on the south end of the island, hidden under a rock face. The place smells like a sewer cause Manure for Brains never bothered to clean the place up. He didn't even send any of those pathetic interns over. He just sends Chef to give us leftovers. Why do ya ask? _Fracture growled.

"Because, if you and your friends cooperate, I'll make sure you get the treatment you deserve; extra food, clean stalls, daily brushing, horse shoes, apples and hay, you name it." Caroline smiled.

_Whoa! Even crunchy sugar cubes? _Fracture asked with rapt attention.

Caroline's smile broadened. "Yep. All you have to do is cooperate long enough for us to win. If we don't, I keep up the deal anyway. Do we have a deal?"

Fracture seemed to consider for a brief moment before rearing into the air and kicking and bucking his legs wildly. _Cupcake, you've got yerself a deal. Just one question._

"What's that?"

_Can I at least torture Chicken Face a little?_

"Be my guest." Caroline mischievously smiled. "Just try not to kick him into too many cacti."

* * *

After riding back to the group, Fracture had quickly relayed the information of the deal made between him and Caroline to the other horses, who were more than happy to comply. Caroline finally managed a slightly fearful Alan to suck it up and get onto his horse before the Eagles left him to fry in the heat. With deals made and slight fears conquered, the team rode off after the Rhinos, but not before Chris gave each of them a cowboy hat and black bandit mask, just to set the mood. He also threw in a paint ball gun for each team mate, just to see how things turned out.

"How did you get them to be so collegial?" Maurananei asked Caroline as they passed the Chris shaped rock, trying to ignore the blank and frightful stare of their torturer. Caroline shrugged. "I guess I just have a way with animals." she said, winking at Fracture as Alan rode by with an anxious look on his face.

"You talked to them, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Caroline confessed, pushing the brim of her cowboy out of her eyes. "We have to give them some apples once this whole charade is over."

_Don't forget about cleaning the stalls and the sugar cubes! _Fracture added.

"Just keep walking, Roger." Caroline said to the horse, drawing odd looks from her team mates. "Did he just say something?" Mithcell asked as he pulled up to Caroline. Caroline frowned. "You know, it's considered rude to drop in on other people's conversations." she said.

"It's a horse!" Mithcell argued.

"Same thing." Caroline said, urging her horse James on, ending the conversation. "FYI, they call Chris Manure of Brains!"

The rest of the Eagles paused before bursting out into laughter. "I'm liking these horses more and more!" Trey howled as he pulled out his guitar. "They know anything else about Chris?"

"Uh, let me check," Caroline said. "You know anything James?"

_I know he that he sucks his thumb while he sleeps._ James cracked. Caroline didn't know if horses could smile, but she was pretty sure James was.

"James says that Chris still sucks his thumb," Caroline relayed to the others.

"Does he sleep with a teddy bear?" Mitchell asked

"That he does." Caroline smiled as Mortisha rode past, hooting wildly as she waved her cowboy hat around in the air. Her horse, a Gray Arabian, looked terrified as the crazy girl urged him to go faster and faster through the canyon. _Poor, Jill. She got stuck with the crazy one. _Fracture sighed.

"I'll throw in some extra apples for her." Caroline reassured him.

* * *

The Rhinos were making good time across the desert known as Chef's Heart. They ignored the circling buzzards that followed them as they ran through gullies and gorges and across featureless wastelands dotted with boulders and cacti. Rattlesnakes watched them with wary eyes as they passed by, trying to conserve the small amount of water their host had been forced to give to them in order to avoid a law suit. Zelda's map reading skills had become invaluable when they came to a forked trail, the left one going through a cactus patch and the other going through a steep canyon with tower sierras on either side (they had wisely chosen the canyon trail after an unfortunate sea gull staggered out of the cactus patch looking more like pin cushion rather than a bird).

The sun began to sink low in the sky, turning the azure deep purple and pink stained with bright oranges and reds. Coyotes howled in the distance as elf owls peered out from their lofty cactus hide outs, and Gila monsters crawled out of their sandy burrows; the desert night shift had begun. Almost immediately as the temperature began to cool down, jack rabbits and desert pronghorn emerged from their shady hiding places. Porcupines could be observed shuffling about as desert tortoises slowly munched on delicious cactus plants low to the ground. "Sure is pertty out 'ere, ain't Kiko?" Zelda said in a mock Western accent. Kiko nodded and breathed in sweet night air that for once didn't smell like oil or exhaust fumes. "How you holding up there?" Kiko called back to Anuok and Reese, knowing that it would only be Reese who would answer.

"We're doing fine, ever since the trail smoothed out. I just hope we get to the finish line before it gets really dark." Reese said.

"What happens if we don't?" Kiko asked nervously, sitting up straight as a rod.

Reese shrugged. "I don't know. The worst thing that could happen to us would be an animal attack."

"You mean like coyotes?"

"Yeah, that's one problem," Zelda said, looking up from her map. "But they're cowards compared to pumas."

"Pumas?"

"Mountain lions." Reese corrected. "While they can be called cougars, pumas, mountain lions, painters, panthers, or catamounts, they're still nasty."

"You don't think Chris was crazy enough to add them out here, do you?" Kiko gulped nervously. Zelda rolled her eyes. "It's Chris. If there's any chance we could be brutally mauled or maimed, he'll make sure we do." Zelda frowed.

_**Confessional**_

"I can't believe I ever had a crush on that little, _sexy, sweet, _psycho path!" Kiko ranted, before realizing she had accidentally complimented someone she was trying to insult. "Ugh, I hate this show!"

_**End Confessional**_

The Rhinos rode on in silence, the cries of the coyotes echoing through the cool night air. The cacti rose above the flat landscape like strangling fingers desperate to grab onto anything to pull themselves out of their sandy prison. "Uh, Zelda?" Can you tell me what that is over there?" Reese asked the pink girl, popping his head out the window with much restraining. The girl squinted her eyes to look out across the dark desert. All she could see were cacti and rocks, as well as a lumpy blob atop a particularly tall saguaro. She was about to reassure Reese not to worry when the blob moved, slinking down head first to the ground. Like liquid steel, the animal slunk across the desert, swishing its tail quietly across the sand as its eyes glowed green in the moonlight. Micheal and Toni became uneasy and less cooperative to Kiko's commands as something began to frighten them.

"Reese. We've got a cougar on our tail." Zelda said quietly. "Kiko, keep Micheal and Toni steady; if we show the puma we're afraid, he'll pursue us without hesitation."

FOOM!

A flash of red light lit up the night sky, and everyone turned to see Micheal back in his human form, face down in the sand with his oversized cowboy covering the entire upper half of his body. The reins and bit we're still in his mouth as he spat out sand. "What the heck, Micheal! Why'd you change back!" Kiko yelled.

"Don't blame me! I didn't tell the Animatrix to change me back! It usually lasts longer than this!" Micheal shot back. A growl cut their argument short and they glanced back to see the cougar was coming closer, more confident as its lip curled back into a snarl, showing its sharp teeth. "Micheal, change back _now _before we're cougar food." Kiko said slowly and quietly. Micheal slowly reached for the watch and cycled through the list before stopping on the silhouette of a stallion. He then quickly slapped the watch face, the cougar stepping back as red light filled the night once more.

"What the– why the heck did you change into that!?" Kiko roared. Standing (more like towering) in front of her was a giraffe, who was throwing Kiko a death glare as best as a giraffe could do. "He must have mis-transformed. Again." Zelda sighed. "And there's no way a giraffe and horse could pull a stagecoach; we'd go around in circles."

"Why?" Kiko asked in frustration. "They're not that different. One's just taller than the other!"

Zelda rolled her eyes and sighed. Pretty much anyone else on the team would understand why it wouldn't work, but Kiko was the one person who wouldn't. "_Because, _a giraffe's and horse's leg lenths are different, with a giraffe's being much taller. Therefore, the giraffe takes longer strides than the horse does-"

"Zelda! We don't have time for a lecture!" Reese yelled. "Toni, get in the stage coach! Kiko, hook Micheal up to the carriage! Zelda, distract the mountain lion! NOW!"

Everyone quickly scrambled to fill out Reese's command, as the injured nerdling never ordered anyone to do anything, much less yell at them to do it. Then again, they _were_ being hunted by the second heaviest cat in North America. Soon, there was a giraffe hooked up to the carriage, and a full grown horse _inside _it. Even if the horse was slowly changing back into a much smaller girl, that didn't stop from Reese passing out in pain, as the horse's right fore hoof was jabbed right into his nether region.

"Hee-yah!" Kiko cried, snapping the reins. The giraffe took off what seemed to be a slow gallop. The large cowboy hat that had once covered the horse's eyes now looked tiny on the world's tallest animal. "Can't you go any faster?" Kiko yelled angrily. "Giraffes can only go about 30 mph. While horses go much faster, giraffe's a longer stride, which makes them-" Zelda said, but was cut off but Toni.

"Wasn't there a mountain lion after us just a few moments ago?" she yelled up to Zelda. The pink genius looked back to see nothing but desert, which was devoid completely of a certain big cat. Zelda nervously glanced about until she heard a startled scream from the front of the stagecoach. Zelda scrambled to the edge to see the mountain lion right in front of Micheal, Kiko clinging tightly to his neck as he kicked his legs frantically. It was the only thing keeping the predator from pouncing on him and attacking Kiko (Micheal was far too big too take down). Barely even thinking, Zelda grabbed the handle of a heavy suitcase and chucked it at the pumas head. The suitcase hit dead on, and the cat was soon dodging a barrage of suitcases and bags. As Zelda distracted the puma, Micheal lashed out with a fore leg, placing a well aimed blow to the catamount's head, cutting the head clean off from the body. Zelda nearly fainted at the sight before she realized that the mountain lion had been a robot; sparks jumped from torn wires in the androids neck as the body collapsed to the ground, dead.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm starting to like Chris less and less," Kiko frowned. "I mean, killer cougar-bots? What's next, a whole stampede of cattle droids that shoot fire out of their nostrils?" She sighed. "On the bright side, I managed to grab some giraffe hair when I was protecting Micheal. What? You think the big lug was protecting me? I was just playing it up for the cameras."

_**End Confessional**_

"Whew! Glad it's just a robot," Kiko sighed as she jumped back to the driver's seat. "Shall we keep goin' then?" Zelda nodded and jumped up to the roof of the stagecoach and pulled out the map. "Head towards the large cactus patch just north-east of here."

"We won't have to pass through there, right?" Kiko asked as she snapped the reins, sending Micheal off at a steady walk. "We shouldn't have to unless we're in real trouble." Zelda answered.

"What classifies as 'real trouble'?" Reese asked from below her.

"Something like another mountain lion, one of Chris's tricks, or something like that."

"How about the other team?"

Zelda startled at the response and nearly fell of the stagecoach when she turned around to see the Extreme Eagles only a hundred yards off. While their horses probably weren't in the best condition, they had some how managed to make great time during the mountain lion attack, although one of them looked a little worse for wear with several cactus spines and what looked like porcupine quills embedded in his shirt and pants.

"Kiko! Kick it up!" Zelda ordered the woman. For once, Kiko didn't argue as they cracked the reins. Micheal kicked it up to a steady gallop, covering yards as his dinner plate-sized hooves pounded against the dusty trail. "Toni! Change into something to defend the carriage! Giraffe's aren't exactly the fastest long distance runners!" Toni nodded and focused on yet another image in her head.

The first thing to happen was the fur; black, thick, and coarse, it raced over her arms and legs, meeting at the torso and racing to cover her face and back as her hands and feet became thick and leathery. Her jaw bulged forward, bones crunching and cracking as they changed, shaped themselves to match the image in her head. Her usually slim arms swelled as muscles packed themselves on top of each other, her veins expanded. Her delicate fingers lost their delicateness as they became thick and perfect for smashing. Her big toes shrank a little and suddenly moved away from the rest as they became similar to her hands. Her face turned into a black, rubbery mask as her belly became round. With the unfortunate fatness came the massive and broad shoulders and the heavy brow that shaded her eyes.

With a loud roar, Toni pounded her chest and shoved a heavy shoulder into one of the carriage doors, popping it off its hinges and sending to the desert floor behind them as they raced away. Hooting loudly, she grabbed the roof of the door, denting it slightly, and swung herself up to the canopy of the stagecoach next to Zelda, her feet landing with a loud _thud_. Toni grabbed the largest suitcase that was left and held it above her head in a threatening pose as the Eagles came closer, about a dozen yards off. She had to wait until they were close enough or she could miss, even if their horses weren't the best she had seen.

Closer. Closer. _Closer._

Now! Roaring, she hurled the suitcase at the opposite team and hit Alan square in the face, knocking him off his horse. Toni swore she thought the animal was laughing at Alan's misery as the others raced after them. They quickly split up into two teams, Trey and Caroline steering their horses to the stagecoach's right, and Mortisha and Mithcell moving their horses to the left as Maurananei reluctantly turned around to help Alan to his feet. The stagecoach was rocked and jostled as the two teams rammed their horses into the sides of carriage, the horses whinnying in protest.

"Sorry about this, guys! Extra hay and sugar when this is over!" Caroline yelled. She mentally sighed. As much as she loved animals, she was really running up a list of promises and deals with this band of horses that had suffered under the abuse of a sadistic host man. She dodged another suitcase that was thrown at her, ignoring it as it fell open to reveal a pink bra and a stuffed brown dog. "SPOT!" Zelda cried. Before anyone could stop her, she jumped off the roof of the stagecoach and scooped up the stuffed animal, tucking it into her as she rolled along the ground, the carriage pulling away. One more person out of the challenge.

"Toni! Ditch 'em!" Kiko yelled as she snapped the reins. Micheal squealed in protest but sped up, pulling the carriage forward a couple feet. It was good, but not good enough to escape the Eagles. The gorilla on the roof of the stagecoach pounded her chest and heaved another piece of luggage down at the Eagles, hitting Mortisha square in the face. The creepy girl merely laughed at the pain and urged her horse forward. She shakily rose up on her legs, balancing on the saddle of the horse as it rode along. With a quick jump, she landed on the side of the stagecoach, her feet resting on the window sills of the carriage. Before Anuok could pop her feet lose, Mortisha scrambled to the roof of the carriage and tackled Toni. Kiko and the rest of the Eagles watched wide eyed as the two fought each other, Mortisha actually seeming to win.

_**Confessional**_

"I know someone has probably said this before, but _that _girl is _scary!_" Mitchell cried. "If we lose, she's going home. I don't know if I can take anymore night time surprises. Last night she kept on laughing manically in the cave. And I thought _Chris's _laugh was scary."

_**End Confessional**_

"End it already, Mortisha!" Trey yelled. "Quit monkeying around!" he added, drawing a short laugh out of his team. Kiko smiled briefly before a fireball landed on the seat next to her. She cried out and brought up a foot to stop it out, just as Mortisha heaved Toni up on her small shoulders and threw her off the stagecoach's roof. Toni bounced twice off the desert floor and rolled to a stop, unmoving.

"She's on the roof!" Reese cried as the thumps of Mortisha's feet pounded on the roof. Anuok growled and whipped out her daggers. She stood motionless in the carriage as the footsteps came closer and closer to the left side of the carriage. Suddenly, Mortisha swung down from the roof, yelling a battle cry. Before she could swing in and kick Anuok out the other side, the mute girl slashed her daggers across Mortisha's wrists, drawing forth a fountain of red blood. Mortisha yelled in surprise and her grip loosened. She tumbled to the ground, Caroline accidentally running her over as she tumbled past, though Anuok predicted Mortisha didn't mind either incident.

"I'm going in," Trey said to Caroline. "If I don't make it back, don't let anyone have my guitar. Except maybe Micheal. I do owe him for saving it from that yeti." Before Caroline could even say anything else, Trey jumped off his horse and into the stagecoach, grabbing the rim of the stagecoach roof and kicking Anuok square in the chest, sending her out the other side of the stagecoach. Trey let the momentum carry him back outside and then back in where he landed on the floor. He got up and turned to a trembling Reese. "Sorry 'bout this, dude!" Trey yelled as he grabbed the handles of Reese's wheelchair and flung him out the right side of the stagecoach. He heard the rattling crash of the wheelchair clatter against the sand, and the strangled cries of Reese as he landed in a cactus patch.

"Crap," Kiko said under her breath. The Eagles had managed to corral them into the large cactus patch she had been trying to avoid earlier. "Micheal! Keep going and don't stop until we've crossed the finish line! I've got some pests to exterminate." Micheal grunted and kept running, though it was easy to see that he was tiring. Kiko hooked the reins to the driver's seat and climbed onto the roof. She picked up one of the last suitcases that dotted the roof and threw it down at Caroline. The suitcase hit her in the shoulder and she hissed in pain. Another suitcase hit her in the leg and a third struck her horse's rump. "Hold still, will ya!" Kiko yelled in frustration.

"Why on earth would I do that!?" Caroline shot back. Kiko growled and heaved the last suitcase at Caroline, striking her in the left temple and knocking her off her horse. She tumbled to the ground, bouncing off a couple of rocks before rolling to a stop, unmoving. Kiko huffed and swung down into the cabin of the stagecoach to face off against the last member of the Eagles. The two circled off like a pair of hungry lions. Trey unhooked his bass and held in a fashion similar to bat. Kiko frantically glanced around for something, anything to use before deciding on a rusted crowbar that was sitting in the corner of the wagon, unnoticed.

"Any last words?" Kiko hissed. Trey looked worried for a brief second, but the feeling passed when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, I've got some: hold on tight."

* * *

Meanwhile, the maniacal host that was Chris McClain and his co-host Chef Hatchet were waiting at the finish line on the North side of the island. The host was still clad in his cowboy outfit while Chef was dressed in a pink country woman's dress, bonnet and fan included. "It's been a while," Chris said nonchalantly. "And from the footage we've been getting, I think we need to liven it up a bit, don't you?" he asked, gesturing to yet another remote with a single red button in its center. Chef grinned evilly and Chris eagerly pressed the button without hesitation. "Lets see how they handle a stampede of cattle-bots!" The host and cook then laughed evilly, their howls and hoots echoing across the desert, causing even the howling of the coyotes to cease.

* * *

"What's goin' on!?" Kiko yelled as the ground rumbled. She suddenly fell to the floor, Trey landing on top of her as she heard a startled grunt from Micheal out front. She dragged herself to the open door of the wagon and looked out in front of them to see a large dust cloud heading their way. It might have been her eyes paying tricks on her, but she swore she saw movement within the dust cloud. Moments later, she was proven right as hundreds upon thousands of robotic cattle stampeded across the desert towards them, flames and smoke shooting out of their laser firing eyes.

_**Confessional**_

"In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have mentioned the robotic cattle," Kiko sighed. "That man just isn't right in the head."

_**End Confessional**_

"Oh, come on!" Kiko cried. The cattle struck with full force, rattling and jostling the carriage with their metallic bodies as they ran past. The droids made mechanical mooing and snorting noises as they rocked them, crashing into Micheal's long legs as they ran past. The giraffe fought his way through the herd, pulling the stagecoach as Kiko and Trey wrestled around inside. "Get off me!" Kiko yelled.

"Why should I!?" Trey shot back, bring his bass up over his head, prepared to swing it down onto Kiko's head. Kiko's eyes widened as the bass swung downward, aimed at her head. Her arms were pinned to her sides, and her legs were useless with Trey on top of her with sweat dripping down his forehead. Kiko glanced around frantically for anything to aid her, when she saw the crowbar she had tried to use earlier. Frantically, she struggled to loosen her right arm to reach for it. She almost had it lose when Trey yelled and the guitar connected with her right temple. Bits of the guitar flew off as the instrument hit Kiko's skull, sending into unconsciousness as Trey got off of her and rolled her lifeless body into the stampede of robots, hardly caring if she made it out or not. He was tired, he was hot, he was sweaty, and he begun to already have had enough of this show. And he was only two episodes in!

_**Confessional**_

"I'll admit, at the time it probably wasn't the wisest decision, nor the best to throw Kiko into a heard of fire breathing, laser shooting cattle robots," Trey admitted as he tuned his bass guitar. "At the time, I was angry. I was mad. Sometimes, I do things that I regret later. And while I may not exactly _like _Kiko, she probably didn't deserve what she got. Then again, it was pretty hilarious now that I think about it."

_**End Confessional**_

"Yah!" Trey roared as he cracked the reins and jerked them to the right. Micheal grunted and turned in the direction he had ordered as dramatic music played in the background (it always seemed to follow them around no matter where they went, even if it didn't match the situation). The stagecoach raced across the dunes with the angry musician constantly snapping the reins and yelling for the giraffe to go faster and faster. Minutes later, they skidded to a stop across the finish line. Micheal collapsed to the ground, the Animatrix changing him back as Trey hopped down from the seat of the wagon with victory all over his face, as well as sweat.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced. "Trey and the Extreme Eagles win!" Trey pumped a fist as the rest of his team, battered and bruised as they were, rode up to the finish line atop their horses, the Rhinos only a couple minutes behind them. Toni had a comatose Kiko slung over her gorilla shoulders as she knuckle walked up to the rest of her team. Reese, while banged up, had been wheeled along by Zelda, who was still clutching her stuffed animal tightly. "As your reward, the Eagles will get to spend yet another night in the Hangout of Awesomeness! And, you will receive special foot massages from our interns!" Chris said as a couple of the interns frowned and glared at him (so much for the night off). "Rhino! You'll be sending someone home tonight! And Eagles, I want you to be there too. I've got a surprise for everyone." the host chuckled, bringing looks of concern and worry across the faces of the campers that were still awake.

* * *

"Tonight, one of your butts will be launched out of my life, and hopefully to the end of yours." Chris said in a cheery voice. The contestants looked nervously between each other.

_**Confessional**_

"Who am I sending home?" Toni asked. "Probably one of the two fighters who didn't win their matches. And while Reese technically never stood a chance, Micheal could have easily beaten Caroline." she said with suspicion.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Who am I voting for?" Zelda asked. "The logical choice would be the weak link on our team: Reese. While Micheal didn't win his match, his Animatrix makes him invaluable to the team. Reese unfortunately, can't take a hit. As much as I like the guy, I don't think he can take another hit."

_**End Confessional**_

Chris then put on a serious face, as he held up a plate with five gooey marshmallows on it. The Eagles stood on the sidelines behind him with eager looks on their faces. One less person to fight for the million. "When I call your name, come up and receive your marshmallow." Chris said.

"Toni." The shape-shifter sighed with relief and jumped up from her seat to grab her marshmallow from the platter, sticking her tongue out at the Eagles as she went to sit back down on her barrel.

"Kiko and Anuok." the two girls smiled and each walked up to get their marshmallows, Kiko limping a but more than Anuok as they each went to sit back down.

"Zelda." The pink girl squealed with delight as she uncrossed her fingers and raced up to the plate and snatched a marshmallow off, kissing it lightly as she sat back down.

"We're down to the final two," Chris breathed. "Reese, you're here because you can't take a hit. Or much of anything else, really." the host laughed as Reese sighed heavily. "And Micheal! You're here because you lost your match to a weakling." Caroline shot Chris a look, but the host ignored it as he did most other things.

"And the camper going home tonight is . . . ." Chris said, pausing for dramatic effect. Reese was quivering in his chair, beads of sweat dripping down his bandaged face as Chris held up the final marshmallow, seeming to contemplate who to give it to. Micheal was equally nervous, crossing his fingers as his Animatrix sparked. The Rhinos watched in horror as Chris brought his finger down between the two boys, switching between which one it would land on. The Eagles looked on his anticipation at the thought of another of their enemies taking the Torpedo of Shame.

"Reese."

The nerdling gasped as Micheal caught his marshmallow, a look of remorse and happiness on his face; happy because he was still in the game, and sad because a friend of his was going home. Reese sighed and began to wheel himself down to the docks when Chris cleared his throat. "Unfortunately Reese, you will not be going home tonight. Tonight, is a reward challenge!" The Eagles groaned in frustration while Reese was about to pass out from relief. "And as a bonus, I will need two volunteers from both teams!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Me and Trey! Me and Trey!" Mortisha cried. Trey looked at her as if she were crazy (which she probably was) and seemed to be contemplating whether he should smash his guitar over her head or not. Chris nodded and turned to the Rhinos. "Any takers?" he asked, flashing his maniacal grin.

Before they could move, everyone but Kiko and Zelda quickly got up from their seats and ran behind Chris, leaving the two girls sitting there as Chris's evil grin broadened. Even Reese had made a speedy get away, curtsey of Anuok who figured Reese wouldn't be able to take another hit.

"Kiko and Zelda! Thank you for volunterring." said Chris. "Now then, the members of each team that have been selected, will now be _switching _teams!"

"WHAT!?" everyone cried in unison. While Kiko looked ticked off, the promise of a good foot rub and a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness did sound nice. "That means we get to enjoy the rewards too, right?" Kiko asked, pointing between Zelda and herself.

"Nope! You _will _be joining their team tonight, but you will _not _be enjoying the rewards." Chris announced with an evil grin. "You'll have to win next time!" Kiko frowned, but said nothing else as the edited teams dispersed.

"So maybe it wasn't as dramatic as I had hoped," Chris smiled to the camera. "Whatever! Will Kiko build her bootleg Animatrix? Will Reese ever man up? Can Maurananei _ever _win Chef over? All these questions and more, probably won't be answered next time! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And here's the third chapter of Pahkitew's Vengeance! Let me know what you think in the reviews below, and if you have any ideas or requests for the story, feel free to PM me!**

**For those that are wondering "**死んだ肉**"****means 'dead meat'. And for all those Japanese people reading this story, I apologize if this is incorrect. I used google translate, as I know no Japanese. I apologize in advance for foreign languages in this story.**

**Adios!**


	4. Losers of the Caribbean

**I'm back, baby! And I have exciting news! Tsukuyomu has finally finished the sketches of all the Oc's in this story! So if you're curious as to what your character may look like, head on over to deviantart art and type in Shi-no-Kogo into the search engine to pull up the image of your character. Feel free to comment on it and the other pictures and let my loyal friend know what you think**

**Here's the next chapter in the Pahkitew's Vengeance series! Will Kiko and Zelda survive the team swap? Can Maurananei and Kiko ever stop fighting? Will Kiko get her Animatrix? When will I stop asking you these meaningless questions and get to the story?**

**Probably now!**

**Forgot to mention this; I don't own Total Drama! All I own are Micheal and Mortisha! All the other characters belong to their respective creators!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! We decided to head out West for some good old fashioned fun! And by 'heading out' West, I mean changing the entire island to suit my _very _dangerous needs! The campers first battled it out in a bar-less bar brawl before racing across the desert in a wild stagecoach chase that resulted in every member of the Rhinos getting tossed into the dirt as the Eagles soared to victory! The Rhinos were about to send Reese home, but it turns out it was a reward challenge! And as an even sicker twist, Trey and Mortisha swapped teams with Kiko and her lackey, Zelda! Will they survive the switch, or will they rip each others guts out?" Chris said with a sick smile on his face. "Find out, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

"AAAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Shut up!

"Can it!"

"Put a sock in it!"

It was just after the last elimination; the campfire had been put out as the teams went their separate ways, the Eagles to the Hangout of Awesomeness and the Rhinos back to their tree house for a good night's rest. Unfortunately, things weren't exactly turning out well. While Trey had settled in comfortably, taking the top bunk over Micheal's (in case the Sasquatchanakwa tried to steal it again), Mortisha hadn't been so easy to sooth. She was now currently on top of the roof, howling at the full moon at the top of her lungs, keeping everyone in the arboreal abode awake.

"Argh! When Chris send we would be getting new room mates, I didn't know he meant _annoying _room mates!" Toni growled as she covered her ears with her pillow. The others had followed her example, shoving everything from their pillows and blankets to their shirts and stinky socks into their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. "Knock it off!" Trey yelled. The howling stopped, much to everyone's relief, and the sound of Mortisha's footsteps could be heard on the roof. Her head soon appeared hanging upside down from one of the windows. "Not until Micheal and Toni come here and howl with me." she insisted. The two shape-shifters glanced at each other before sighing. "Fine," Micheal said with a yawn. "But after this, you don't ever do again, comprendo?" Mortisha vigorously shook her head, and the two teens went to the window to climb up onto the roof.

Anuok sighed with relief and turned over in her bunk. Reese, unable to actually sleep in a bed, lay back in his wheel chair and attempted to fall asleep. Trey, knowing what was coming, covered his ears with two pillows as the footsteps on the roof echoed through the room. He saw the night sky turn red for a brief moment, signaling that Micheal had activated the Animatrix. A few minutes passed in silence, and Trey thought that the two shape-shifters had turned on Mortisha, silencing her for the night.

He was however, wrong.

"AAAAAAAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AAAAARRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"HHH-RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"Why!?" Toni wailed as she shoved her face into her pillow.

* * *

It was early the next morning. Caroline blinked open her eyes and yawned quietly as she got up from her comfortable spot on a stained sofa. The piece of furniture had once been spotless, but after a night of hard partying and video game playing, it was now covered in orange and blue stains. Caroline ignored it however as she sat up; the couch would once again be spotless the next time they came into the Hangout of Awesomeness. She looked around the dark room, with its two giant flat screen TVs taking up an entire wall. One of them was rolling through the credits of a muted action movie with Maurananei and Mitchell out cold in front it. Alan was sprawled out on the floor with an Xbox controller in one limp hand. Caroline looked at the screen to see a paused game of _Bioshock._ She had surprisingly enjoyed the game after Alan asked her for the umpteenth time to play with him.

Quietly, she tip toed across the floor, avoiding the numerous chip bags and empty soda cans. How only four people could make a such a mess was beyond her. Wincing at the loud rumbling sound, she pulled the garage door to the Hangout up and stepped out into the cool morning air. She sucked in a breath of fresh air and rolled the door shut before walking out through the woods. She seemingly headed off in a random direction, toward the 1,001 ft tall cliff. Instead of talking the long trek up it, she instead walked around it, toward it's base she knew she would find a shabby building she had been told about yesterday. She quickly found it, about fifty yards away from the shoreline where the waves gently lapped. The stables (more like shack) were almost unrecognizable. Its shingled roof had holes in it with mold and vines draped everywhere. The walls were falling apart, holes large enough for an angry badger to pass through, but not for a panicked horse. The doors were falling off their hinges, letting in the cold night air, and the smell was absolutely noxious. She sucked in a deep breath and walked through the broken door frame and into the stable, where three stalls sat on either side of the hallway. In the back was an empty space where one might pile hay or stock horse shoes and saddles.

"_Hey, look who decided to show up." _a tired voice with a deep Boston accent rang out. Caroline smiled. "Morning, Fracture. I thought I might get an early start on mucking out the stalls." The old horse clopped over to the closed door of his stall. _"You got the goods you promised, Cupcake?" _he asked. Caroline nodded and reached into her sweatshirt pocket to pull out a bag of sugar cubes she stole from the Hangout of Awesomeness. She scooped out a handful of sugar cubes and held them out for the broken horse, who took them greatfully. _"Delicious." _Fracture sighed. Caroline's smile broadened. "I'll hand out more once I've cleaned this place up a bit." she said as she put the sugar cubes in her sweatshirt pocket and slipped the article of clothing off to reveal a white tank top. She hung the sweatshirt in one of the rafters and grabbed a rusty shovel that lay off a wall.

"Need any help?" a voice asked her. Caroline jerked her head up to see Micheal leaning in the doorway. "How did you find me?" Caroline asked him, holding out the shovel like a weapon, just in case. Micheal smiled and walked up to her. "It's hard to escape the vision of a hawk," he chuckled. "So, what're you doing?" Caroline thought it over. On one hand, he could help shorten the workload ten fold. On the other, he could easily hurt her, though she saw nothing to indicate so. "I made a deal with these horses last challenge. Since they helped us win, I'm gonna nurse them back to health. Poor things need it." she told him, gesturing to the six horses in the stables.

"I'll say," Micheal said as he grabbed a pitchfork and swung it over a shoulder. "I'll shovel out hay. You gonna shovel out dung?" Caroline nodded as she opened the door to Fracture's stall and led the horse outside. She quickly let the other horses lose outside, where they could graze and run around like they should be. The two teens then set to work, with Micheal shoveling the stale and rancid hay into a pile while Caroline scooped waste into another to be taken care of later. "So, how are you getting getting along with your new team?" Caroline asked Micheal as she scooped up a large pile of unrecognizable brown stuff. Micheal shrugged his shoulders as he tossed hay over his shoulder. "Eh, they're okay. Mortisha kept us up all last night, though."

Caroline sighed. "I know. She gave me nightmares the first week she was here, constantly cackling in our cave. What'd she do?"

"She made me and Toni howl at the moon with her. Unfortunately, the Animatrix turned me into a tiger instead of a wolf. I don't know what's wrong with this thing. It's been acting up lately." Micheal said.

"What's wrong with it? If you ask me, you got something cool on your wrist." Caroline grinned.

Micheal smiled back. "Yeah, it's pretty awesome. It just keeps turning me into the wrong thing. And my transformations don't last as long as before." he sighed, and went back to dredging hay. Caroline then felt sympathy for the boy shoveling muck next to her. The one thing that made him special was on the fritz. What might happen if it was destroyed forever?

"So, what's it like to be a super hero?" Caroline asked him as they moved onto the next stall. She could hear the steady thumping of horse hooves outside pounding against the grass and dirt. "I dunno know. Kinda good, kinda bad. I sometimes get cut on some slack if I don't turn in my homework on time. You wouldn't _believe _how many times I've had to skip out on homework to stop a runaway train or something. And then there's the fact that everyone wants to ride on your back somewhere . . ."

Caroline was about to ask more when a loud whistling sound pierced the air. Before she could even ask what it was, Micheal dropped his pitch fork and dashed out of the stable, without even an explanation. Caroline sighed and went back to slinging poop. "Just when I thought I had a friend . . ." she groaned.

* * *

"Knock it off, you **BEEP! BEEP!**" Zelda yelled as she smacked Alan over the head with a stick. The boy was persistent, and was once again stalking Zelda. She had been taking a morning walk after spending all night working on the prototype Animatrix that Kiko had relentlessly ordered her to create. And while she had rested by a creek that ran through the forest, Alan had appeared out of nowhere and had tried to molest her again, though he had been a bit more reluctant than last time, staying at a safe distance as Zelda defended herself. "C'mon! I just want to talk!" Alan cried as he was bashed over the head by the stick again. Before he could speak again, Zelda grabbed a small whistle that hung on a chain around her neck and blew on it, sending out a shrill whistle into the air. "What does that do?" he asked nervously, backing away from her slowly.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

Alan gulped and turned around to see a mass of grey charging through the forest at a brisk pace, flattening logs and plants that stood in it's path. It enormous, with wide sides and a box shaped head with short, powerful legs connected to a hulking bulk. Two sharp horns sprouted up from the creature's face. Alan screamed and scrambled to his feet, just as the rhinoceros hit him full force, twisting its head up and sending him across the creek and into a tree. Cries of pain could be heard as he tumbled down and landed in a large thorn patch at the bottom of the tree.

Zelda sighed with relief and turned away from Alan to watch the rhinoceros vanish in a red light to reveal Micheal with a smirk on his face. "He'll be feeling that tomorrow," he chuckled. "You okay?" Zelda nodded her head. "I managed to fend him off with a tree branch before you arrived. Thanks for the whistle by the way." Micheal grinned. "Anytime." he said as he walked back the way he came without a word. Zelda smiled and sighed. The Watch Bearing Hero had given Zelda the whistle last night as both a parting gift, and a way to call for help if Alan tried anymore tricks again.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm lucky to have Micheal as a friend," Zelda said with a big smile. "Always loyal and friendly. At least, to those who don't grind his nerves. I just wish I didn't have to keeping lying to him about the Animatrix project I've been working on. He's gonna be freakin' **BEEP! w**hen he finds out."

_**Change Confessional**_

"ARGH! Again!" Alan roared as he pulled out another thorn that was embedded in his butt. "Once again, that Watch Wearing Jerk keeps me from being with my girl! Ergh! I need someway to get rid of him. I can't eliminate him; he's far too useful and popular with his team, and I can't even lay a finger on him without getting maimed." Alan whined until a thought occurred to him. "Maybe it's time I cashed in on that deal I made with Maurananei." he chuckled, rubbing his hands mischievously until he hissed in pain, pulling out yet, another thorn from his palm.

_**End Confessional**_

Zelda sighed. The guilt was slowly eating away at her, faster than Chef's gumbo. Kiko had made her spend the better part of the night working on the alien watch. Her fingers were cramping up after attaching and inserting wires and tubes, her mind incredibly sore from calculating equations and statistics in her head. She had finally managed to (hopefully) get the prototype working around 2:00 in the morning and slept four hours of restless sleep on the cold, cave floor. She could barely keep her eyes open as she sighed once more and lay down on the rock, hoping to catch some Zs before the challenge would begin.

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Apparently she wasn't going to get anymore sleep. She groaned and sat up on her rock, wincing and covering her ears as the shrill squeaking of the loud speakers rang across the island. "Arrr, mateys! Get the anchors out of yer pants and meet me at the docks in five minutes, ye landlubbers!" Chris yelled out in a horrible pirate imitation. Kiko moaned and got up from her rock, shuffling towards the docks like a rotting zombie.

By the time she got there, everyone else was already waiting for her, Kiko (among others) tapping her foot impatiently on the decaying dock. Zelda yawned and staggered over to the young woman, exhausted. "Where were you?" Kiko hissed. Zelda yawned again. "Out for a walk. I finished the watch, if that's what you're wondering. We can begin testing after the challenge." she said. Kiko frowned. "But I want to try it _now!_" she whined, similar to the way a bratty baby might do if they were denied a cookie. Zelda rolled her eyes. "Look, would you rather be stuck as some hideous freak with no way to change back?" she asked. Kiko sighed. "No. But I want it done soon."

"Fine. Whatever." Zelda yawned as Chris walked up onto the dock. The host was dressed in a frilly, white pirate shirt under a black vest. A red sash was wrapped around his waist, with black captain boots on his feet and a black captain's hat with a skull and crossbones. A plastic parrot sat on his shoulder as he flashed his famous smile to the camera, drawing shivers out of the contestants. "Today's challenge be pirate themed, me hearties!" Chris said.

"Are you just taking worn out ideas from last seasons, or have you just run out of good ideas?" Micheal asked with a frown, drawing several chuckles from the cast. Chris frowned and pulled out a walkie talkie. "Chef! I need a cannonball about 10 degrees North, 21 ft high." he said into the device. A dull _boom_ sounded off in the distance, and a few seconds later, a large cannonball soared through the air and toward the cast, hitting Micheal square in the gut, sending him to the dock and knocking the air out of him.

"_Touche._" he groaned from the pier as the cannonball rolled off his stomach and into the lake.

"Now then, is there anything else anyone would like to add?" Chris added with a look. Everyone shook their heads as Micheal staggered to his feet. "Any-who, today you'll be searching for the pieces to a couple of pirate ships, of which you will then assemble. There are six pieces to each ship. Each piece is stamped with that team's symbol, so as not to get mixed up. The first team to find all their pieces, get them back to the beach and assemble them will win a leg up in the next challenge. Are there any questions?" Chris asked. Everybody raised their hands, but as usual Chris ignored them. "No? Alright! GO!" Chris yelled, sounding off his air horn and sending the team's scattering.

* * *

"Lets split up into teams of two. That way we'll be able cover more ground." Trey suggested as they ran through the forest. Everyone quickly agreed and separated, Anuok and Toni going off in one direction, Trey and Mortisha in another, and Micheal and Reese (who still strapped into a wheelchair) went off into another. "Any ideas about where we should look, Anuok?" Toni asked the silent girl. Anuok held up a finger and closed her eyes for a moment before pointing North, toward the mountains. Toni looked at the steep cliffs and cursed under he breath. "I think I've got something to help. Give me a sec." she said as she concentrated on an image in her head. The changes began quickly.

Her pupils were the first to change, becoming golden brown in color. Bony knobs appeared on the sides of her head as thin hairs began to sprout all over her body, making her look like she was wearing a gorilla suit. Her face bulged forward into a wet muzzle as he teeth became flat, perfect for chewing tough plants. His fingers were sucked into her hands, leaving only the finger nails. They quickly fused together into a hard covering that covered her knuckles. The same thing happened to her feet as another wave of hair sprouted from her body. Her shoulders swelled as muscles packed themselves on, the bony knobs on her head becoming longer and curving upward, ending in a sharp point as the final of movement of long, shaggy hair covered her six ft tall frame. The final part was a short, furry tail popping out of the end of her spine, completing the large yak that stood before Anuok. The bovid knelt to the ground and gestured with her head for Anuok to climb on her back. The animal snorted and took off at a slow pace through the ever fading woods toward the mountains, Anuok hanging onto tufts of fur as they traveled.

* * *

"Lets split up into one person teams," Kiko suggested. "That way, we'll find what we need faster."

"Are you kidding me? This island is a death trap!" Maurananei argued. "We need to at least go in pairs!"

"Why should I listen to you? All you ever do is try to impress Chef!" Kiko shot back. "And besides, I'm the adult here, so you all have to listen to me!"

The rest of the Eagles protested, but Kiko stood firmly. She was the one with more life experience in the game, therefore she should be in charge! Eventually, she had them all set off in their own directions, Caroline toward the mountains, Maurananei the beach, Mitchell the swamp, Alan the East part of the forest, Zelda the West, with Kiko scouting the area that passed as a kitchen/eating area. Kiko gave a smirk. As if there was anything in the kitchen area to look for. She had craftily tricked her team mates into doing the work for her, and all she had to do was kick back and relax. "Now I can try out that watch Zelda was telling me about." she said to herself as she tip toed into the woods.

Meanwhile, Alan had been 'searching' for any of the ship pieces. At least, if anyone asked him that was what they were doing. In reality, he was silently heading toward the beach where he could easily find Maurananei. It was time to put his plan into action. He found the girl sitting sullenly on a rock, drawing something in the sand with a stick. "Hey, Maurananei!" Alan shouted. The girl jolted up and held her stick in a threatening manner before she realized who it was. "Oh. It's _you._" she huffed as she sat back down the rock with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he walked over to her to see her sketch of Chef in the sand. While he hated to admit it, she had some good drawing skills. Maurananei sighed. "I just can't get close to my Chefy Wefy. He always runs, and Chris is doing everything in his power to keep me away from him. Which is a _lot _of power." she said with a pout. Alan sat down on the rock next to her with a sly smile on his face. "I've got a proposition for you. Do you want to hear it?" he asked.

"Does it get me my Chefy Wefy?" Maurananei asked in a sad tone. Alan smiled mischievously. "Actually, yes. It does." he said. Maurananei immediately perked up after hearing that. Alan continued once he was sure he had her full attention. "As you may have noticed, I'm trying to get close to Zelda," "Pft. Good luck with that, Romeo." Maurananei interrupted. Alan frowned but continued along. "As you may have also noticed, I can't get anywhere near her without getting mauled by her bodyguard, Micheal."

"How exactly does this get me my Chefy Wefy?" Maurananei asked, edging her stick closer to Alan's throat. The boy gulped, and his Adam's apple slid barely past the sharp end of the twig. "I overheard you saying you needed some help getting back at Chris last challenge, correct?" he asked. Maurananei frowned but nodded her head. "Well, all you have to do it convince Micheal to help you. If Chris were to somehow be unable to host the show, he wouldn't be here to protect Chef from you. And while you two distract him, I can work on Zelda without having to worry about Micheal. Understand?" Alan asked. Maurananei lowered the stick and thought it over. One of her team mates was offering a deal that could get her together with the love of her life, as well as his. Could this plan blow up in her face? Absolutely.

"What happens if I decide not to go along with your plan?" she asked, raising her stick again. Alan smirked. He had her right where he wanted her. "I'm pretty sure you remember the events of the hunting challenge, correct? Lets just say I saw you and your new _boyfriend_ have a make out session." he said with a sly smile. Maurananei stopped cold, and her expression turned to something similar to a volcano blowing up. But, she knew there was nothing she could do about it. He had made an offer she couldn't simply refuse, even if she wanted too.

_**Confessional**_

"Do I trust him? No." Maurananei growled. "Do I like his plan? Yes. If it gets me together with Chefy Wefy, I'm all game. And the other factor he threw in sealed the deal." she said with displeasure. "Stupid little **BEEP!**

_**End Confessional**_

"Deal." Maurananei said, taking Alan's hand and shaking it. Alan grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you." Maurananei gritted her teeth and smacked him over the head with the stick, heading off into the woods to put the plan into motion. Alan couldn't stop smiling. Everything was coming together.

* * *

"Do ya see anything yet, Reese?" Micheal asked the small boy. Reese shook his head. "Nope. Sorry." Micheal sighed and pushed the wheelchair forward, cursing when the front wheel got stuck against another root. He sighed and pulled the chair back and pushed it forward again, Reese's brown hair bouncing up as he rolled over the root. "Sorry I'm not much use," Reese sighed.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I've met people who've been in much worse situations than you've been." Micheal told him. "I sometimes work with the disabled kids in my school. They're always a hoot to be around with." he laughed. Reese smiled when something caught his eye. Hidden under a large thorn bush was a large steering wheel bronze spokes and handles on a round wooden frame. "I found one!" he exclaimed. Micheal rushed over to the thorn bush and, after much cursing, dug the wheel out. "Yes!" he cried in triumph. "It's ours!" he yelled, pointing a sticker of a purple rhino snorting angrily as it pawed the ground. Reese cheered as Micheal stuck the steering wheel on the back of the wheelchair, the spokes hanging on the handles. They moved on, searching for more pieces.

"Soo, Reese? How do ya like the island so far?" Micheal asked, trying to make conversation to end the silence. Reese shrugged as best as he could. "I don't know. I've made some pretty cool friends like you and Anuok, so that helps a little. I just, I don't know, feel useless sometimes." he sighed. "You've got that cool watch on your wrist, Zelda is super smart, Anuok can read the future, Toni can change into animals, Caroline can talk to animals, Mitchell can control fire, Mortisha's immune to pain, Trey has a super powered guitar, and Maurananei can break every bone in your body before you even realize it," he listed off. "I just feel a little pathetic and useless around everybody. I'm the only normal one here." he said with another heavy sigh.

"Don't feel bad, dude." Micheal said with a little cheer. "Just because we're all freaks doesn't mean your alone. I mean seriously, just because I can change into weird creatures doesn't mean I don't like to play video games like a normal dude. Just because Trey has a super powered guitar doesn't mean he wants to play normal music. And just because Caroline can talk to animals doesn't mean she wants to talk to other people. You see what I'm getting at here?" he asked. Reese nodded his head. "Thanks. I needed that." he said with a grin. "And I'm pretty sure you need some ice after you took that cannonball to the gut. Micheal laughed. "Shut up," he said lightly as he pushed them towards the mountains.

* * *

"Found one!" Mortisha said with excitement. She had Trey had decided to search on the other side of the island, with Mortisha swinging from tree to tree like an excited monkey while Trey remained on the ground. "Finally." the musician sighed. "Where is it?" he called up. Mortisha swung up to the highest branch of a pine tree and took a look at where she had last seen the piece they were looking for. "On the beach stuck between some boulders!" he yelled down after a few moments. Trey set off for the beach at a jog, pumping arms as his bass slapped against his back. He stumbled down a steep incline before it smoothed out onto crystal clear sand. He skidded to a stop after a dozen yards to see what looked like the hull of a ship stuck fast between some large rocks that looked as if they had been there for ages. He quickly pulled out his guitar and was about to let out another sonic howl to shatter thr rocks when Mortisha scurried up to and heaved it over her head with ease. "No worries, Trey! They're plastic! See?" she yelled as she easily chucked her boulder into the lake and watched it float away. Trey pouted and put his guitar away as Mortisha disposed of the other slab.

_**Confessional**_

"Normally, I would say that everything can except homework can be solved with a sonic blast," Trey said with a heavy sigh. "Oh, well. I can try in the next part of the challenge."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

Anuok sucked in another deep breath as she rode up the mountain. The air was surprisingly thin up there, and made the silent girl more than just dizzy. Toni in her yak form however, didn't seem to mind at all as she trudged up the cliff with ease. The trees had long since thinned out and looked like a shaggy green carpet down below them. The lake was just a little ways away from the forest with a thin strip of white sand separating them. Anuok sucked in another breath and realized Toni had stopped, jerking towards something with a horn. Anuok followed her point to see a large, thick pole with a thinner one nailed up towards the top. A large white cloth bound with ropes hung from the small of the poles, and a bucket big enough for a person to sit inside was staked to the top. Anuok pumped a fist and jumped off the yak's back and ran over to what looked like a ship's mast. She quickly checked for the Rhino's symbol and found it stuck to the sail. She found a coil of rope that Chris had been kind enough to leave behind and tied both ends to the smaller pole, looping the rest of the rope around Toni's horns and neck. Anuok then jumped back on the yak and urged her down the mountain, dragging the mast at a slow pace. The large piece of equipment knocked loose some boulders that tumbled down the side of the cliff, but both of the cast mates ignored it. After all, what were the odds of someone else being on the same mountain as them?

* * *

Caroline heaved another sigh as she trudged along the cliff side in the hopes of discovering a piece of her team's ship. So far, no such luck. Once again, she had been ditched to be left alone by those around her. While Micheal was a good friend, and Maurananei and been supporting her every step of the way like a big sister, she still felt lonely. She glumly kicked a pebble aside and watched it tumble down the mountain side. A sudden noise caught her attention and she glanced up to see approximately two tons of rock falling right toward her! "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she cried as she instinctively crouched down and covered her head. She expected the rocks to pulverize her brittle body to dust when she felt something heavy slam into her, taking both of them over the side of the cliff as the rubble tumbled after them. Caroline was screaming at the top of her lungs as she and the mysterious person were sent into a free fall. The air was knocked out of her as she felt a sudden jolt, with the world shaking around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the incident to end when everything fell silent. For a moment she did nothing until she cracked open an eye. Wherever she was, it was dark. Not dark enough to be pitch black, but dark enough that she trouble seeing around her. What she _could _see was a wall of dark green on all sides, with a hard, hollow plating beneath her knees. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to figure out where she was when she felt the leathery walls above her move, folding up and down to release her. She blinked for a moment as the sunlight blinded her for a brief moment. Then she gasped.

She was lying on the stomach of a large animal bearing great resemblance to a giant turtle. Eight large holes were lay on the outer ring of the creature's shell, and Caroline panicked before she realized that they weren't injuries. Two large flippers nearly as tall at the creature itself lay splayed out on either side of the body. Two stumpy legs with three claws were stuck near the bottom of the shell with dull brown spots on the knees and flippers. The head of the animal was seemingly jammed inside the shell without any sign of it coming out. The creature's eyes were half open as a low groaned escaped it's beak-like mouth. "Uuuuuugh. That normally doesn't hurt so much." he croaked. Caroline gasped when she saw the fanged symbol on the being's chest. "Micheal!" she cried.

The turtle, Micheal, waved a flipper. "Ahh, don't worry about me. I've been through worse." he mumbled half awake. He planted his flippers on the pile of rocks beneath and tried to pull himself up, wincing as he sat up. "Ahh, scratch that last statement." he moaned. "I think my shell's cracked. You mind taking a look?" he asked her. Caroline jerked her head, worry in her eyes as she crawled off of Micheal's stomach and around to his domed back. She winced as she saw the deep cracks in the creature's shell. "Yeah, it's definitely cracked." she said. Micheal sighed. "I was afraid of that. Looks like gonna be out for about an hour."

"Doesn't it normally take longer for something like that to heal?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. _Normally. _The Animatrix heals these kinds of wounds more quickly. If I transform before the injuries healed, I'll just experience some mild swelling and pain in that region. Plus, I'm a Tolkobee. They're fast healers and very durable." Micheal reassured her. "You should probably get back to hunting." he said as he lied down and closed his eyes. Before long he was asleep.

Caroline sighed with relief and stood up, looking back and forth between the towering cliff and the dozing creature. She quickly made a choice and bent down to the creature's face and gave a light kiss to his forehead before running off into the woods, a sense of worry, confusion, and giddiness swirling in her head.

_**Confessional**_

"I don't know why I did it," Caroline said with nervousness. "I mean, sure he _did _save my life, and he _is _kind of cute. But what would my team think!?" she panicked, practically hyperventilating.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yeah, I saw Caroline kiss Micheal." Reese said with a smirk. "I won't hold her against it though. It's actually kind of cute, her having a crush on him."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

Kiko silently stalked through the forest, diving behind bushes and shrubs whenever she thought she heard voices. She knew Zelda would be lurking nearby, searching for a piece of their ship, so that she had to be careful. If the girl ever figured out what she was attempting, she might cut the project all together and leave the young woman without an advantage whatsoever. After what seemed like agonizing hours, she finally reached the cave her team mates had slept in the night before. She dove into the cavern and immediately set for a pile of rocks. She quickly removed them to reveal a sturdy wooden crate turned over so the open top was face down, protecting the contents inside. Kiko lifted the crate and set it down quietly as she looked at the object lying on the stone floor.

It was bulky instead of small and smooth like Micheal's Animatrix. Then again, it was a prototype, and Zelda hadn't yet designed it for style, just for purpose. The main color scheme was purple in contrast to Micheal's red, with the same fanged image on the face of the watch. Little lights blinked along the thick wrist band as Kiko picked it up and looked it over. After she didn't find any kind of security measure on it, she slipped the loose watch onto her left wrist and yelped in surprise when it moved like liquid steel to fit itself accordingly to her wrist, shrinking in size to fit perfectly. Kiko grinned and tapped the watch face, the familiar looking hologram popping up to meet her. She cycled through the list, excited at the many transformations she could possibly try out, but was disappointed when she discovered it had no more than five available transformations. "Note to self: gather more samples." she said to herself as she rolled over the silhouette of a proud eagle and elegant giraffe for the eighth time. She finally settled on the image of a growling bear, deciding to go with the fiercest animal in the arsenal. She tapped the image and the activation button came up as the face plate slid back.

She pressed the button and was engulfed in a purple light.

And then she screamed.

* * *

"If I were a piece of a pirate ship, where would I hide?" Mitchell wondered aloud to himself. He tried to ignore the squishy feeling between his toes as he trudged through the swamp, the mud sucking at his feet. He had long sense lost his shoes to the muck under the swamp, and his pants and shirt was covered in mud and slime. He thought about flying over the swamp on jets of flame, by the high amount of methane in the air made that idea too risky. So he had had to settle for walking and wading through the brackish waters of the marsh, the mosquitoes eating him alive as he searched.

"Agh! Stupid bugs!" he yelled, slapping his face in an attempt to swat away a mosquito. A sudden growling noise sounded to his left and Mitchell turned to see something dive below the surface. He now took more cautious steps, certain that he was being hunted by something that had most likely been set by Chris. He was so busy watching his back that he didn't even notice a large cannon until the barrel hit him straight in the gut. As he gasped, trying to suck air back into his lungs, another growl sounded, this time to his right. And then in front of him. And then behind him. And he soon found out what was making the noises.

Rising out of the water in a perfect circle around him and the cannon were at least a dozen alligators, all looking exceptionally hungry and nasty today. Several licked their chops as they imagined dining on the small boy in front of them as he lit a hand ablaze. With any luck they would be eating their dinner cooked for once. Mitchell, not one to actually _want _to be eaten by alligators, decided to forgo the warning he had told himself and let a ball of fire form in his hand. He slung in angrily at an alligator, hitting it square in the face and sending it crashing through a mangrove tree. One down, eleven to go. Then, as one, the alligators attacked! Their jaws snapping shut like bear traps, they rushed him, their reptilian bodies churning the murky water of the swamp in froth as they lunged at Mitchell, pulling him under the water. Bubbles floated to the surface as one, two alligators were set back, but Mitchell did not surface. Another alligator was sent through a row of mangrove of trees and out of the fight, but Mitchell still hadn't risen, and the bubbles were becoming less and less frequent until they stopped all together.

* * *

Alan dove behind a bush. He sniffed the air, and a smile crept across his face; he could smell her. For the past half hour he had been stalking her through the woods like a predator, staying just out of sight as she walked through the forest, completely oblivious to him. No matter how fast she turned around, he was dive into the brush, out of sight. Smiling, he took a peek out from behind the bush and nearly had a heart attack when he couldn't fin her anywhere. _Hoe she disappear so fast? h_e thought to himself. He suddenly heard a loud rustling in the trees above him and he glanced up just in time to be nailed in the face by a familiar pink boot that shoved his head into the dirt, the smell of rotting leaves and wood overwhelming his senses. "Alan." an angry feminine voice hissed. The boot was reluctantly removed, but he could feel something pressing firmly against the area where his head and neck met. "Get up with your hands on your head if you want to live." the voice commanded.

Alan pulled himself up off the forest floor and quickly put both hands on his head before Zelda could jab the end of her bo staff into his spine, doing everything from mild pain to possible paralysis. "Why were you stalking me?" Zelda asked, keeping her bo staff drawn on him. Alan had to admit, as much as he was terrified right now, she looked absolutely beautiful when she angry. The way her eyebrows pointed down, her lips curving downward, and the way her left eye twitched when she was furious was somehow endearing to him. Zelda growled and moved the tip of her bo staff to his throat, just an inch away from his Adam's apple. "I won't repeat myself again; why were you stalking me?" she hissed venomously.

"What, I can't talk to the most beautiful and intelligent girl in the world?" he asked, throwing her a stunning smile. Zelda blinked once in surprise before drawing the long stick on him again. "Your words won't work on me." she growled. Alan smiled again; he had seen her weaken, even if only for the briefest of moments. This girl's weakness was flattery about everything from her gorgeous looks to her massive brain. While Alan didn't exactly care too much about the brain part, he was more than happy to compliment on her looks. He calmly took his hands off his head and set them on the bo staff, pulling it down and away from serious injury. Zelda quickly jabbed it back to him, stabbing him in his jewels and whacked him over the head with the stick. Alan fell to the ground clutching his coconuts in pain as his vision swam before his eyes. "As much as I appreciate the flattery, I'm not looking for a relationship with the likes of _you._" she spat, literally spitting on him in the face. "But since you amuse me for the moment, take this as a token of my appreciation." she said in a pitied tone. She disappeared from Alan's vision, and for a moment he thought she had left him to suffer. He needn't worry as she came back hauling a ship's steering wheel with a bronze eagle in the middle. "That way you won't seem completely useless." she said with a wicked smile. "Good Luck." she simply said before leaping straight up into the nearest pine tree and hopping away.

"I swear, I will have you one day, Zelda." Alan moaned as the pain from her last attack over came him, sending him into oblivion.

* * *

"How many more pieces do we have to find?" Trey huffed. After what seemed hours, he and Mortisha had managed to haul the ship's bow to the beach where both Chris and Chef were relaxing in lawn chairs, enjoying the warm rays of the sun while the contestants slaved away. A sweating intern panted nearby, fanning the pair furiously with a large, feathered fan. At the snap of Chris's finger, he fanned faster and faster until he suddenly passed out from lack of oxygen. Seconds later, another intern came to take his place as two more internes carried their fallen comrade away.

"I think we have about five more left." Mortisha said, drawing the hood of her cloak over her head. She didn't mind the sun all that much. In someways, it was nice. It certainly helped when you were trying to fry yourself to a crisp with a giant magnifying glass. But she mostly preferred the night, with's lulling moonlight and cool breeze. She went so far as to even get a "moon tan", which explained her pale exterior. And because of that, the sunlight could be sometimes painful, even to her. Trey ignored the movement as Anuok came trudging out of the woods on the back of a sweating yak. Hooked to the yak's horns and neck was a large mizzen mast with the sails rolled up. The yak trudged a few more feet onto the beach and collapsed to the ground next to the ship's haul. Anuok hopped off Toni's back and untied the ropes. Already, the thick coat of fur and hair was disappearing as a human girl began to emerge from within the large beast. A couple minutes later, a panting and dehydrated Toni was kneeling in the sand, fanning herself desperately with her hands. "Scratch that. We have four more to find." Mortisha corrected herself. "We'll go look in the swamp, while you guys check the forest again." she said to Trey and then Anuok and Toni. "And see if we can find Micheal and Reese too."

* * *

"Get up."

Micheal groaned and cracked open an eye to see a tempered Maurananei standing over him with both hands on her hips and a ticked expression on her face. The creature sighed and hauled himself up onto his stubby legs, standing a good four feet taller than Maurananei. He reached with a flipper for the Animatrix, but Maurananei stopped with a raised hand. "I understand you're injured, so I'll allow you to remain in that form of yours." she said in a commanding. Micheal rolled his eyes. "You'll _allow _me? Oh, thank you, your highness." he said with as much sarcasm as possible. Maurananei ignored the comment and continued. "I have need of your services." she told him.

"I'm listening." Micheal said after a few moments. Maurananei continued on.

"I want to get back at Chris, and I'm pretty sure you do too. I need your help to get into his cottage and help me trash the place." Maurananei said.

"Why do you need me?" Micheal asked, folding his large flippers over his carapace. "And I thought he called it a mansion?"

"No one owns a cottage that big," Maurananei told him. "And the reason I need you is you can make it look like we were never there. Turn into a bear or something and make it look like a whole bunch of Chirs's twisted animal bots went rogue."

The large turtle smiled a mischievous grin. "I like the way you think. We just need to drop Reese off at the beach before we can go. Climb on." he said, turning around and gesturing with a flipper to his large, domed shell. Maurananei gave him a confused look. "Um, don;t you want to change into something faster?" she asked. The large being just smiled. "Trust me. Also, I'm gonna have to borrow your belt."

"Why!?"

"It makes travel a little easier when you have something to hang on to." Micheal explained.

Maurananei gave him a confused look, but climbed onto the large shell anyway as Micheal looped the belt through the middle of holes in his chest. They then proceeded to waddle, swinging from side to side, up a small hill and turn a sharp right up onto the cliff, where a dozing Reese could be seen in his wheelchair. Micheal held a flipper up his mouth, indicating silence. He then tiptoed over the small boy as best as he could and strapped both ends of the belt together around Reese's chest and under his arms, to provide extra security. "I still don't see how this is gonna work." Maurananei hissed in Micheal's ear hole. The giant turtle smiled. "You've obviously never met a Tolkobee, have you?"

Maurananei was about to argue that no body had ever met a Tolkobee before when something completely bizarre happened. Micheal gave a small jump into the air, quickly splaying his large flippers out on either side of him. His legs miraculously melded together into a third flipper, directly underneath his head. Before they fell back to the ground, Micheal began to spin his slippers, as if they were all joined on single circular disk inside of his shell. The flippers rotated like a helicopter's blades, lifting the large animal and its passengers off the ground by a few feet. Maurananei's jaw was agape as the flippers spun faster and faster as they rose higher and higher into the air until they were over the height of the tallest trees. Maurananei held her breath as the Tolkobee angled slightly downward, and they instantly zoomed in that direction, towards the beach. Reese dangled below, asleep, with the ship's steering wheel firmly locked onto his wheelchair. The thin strip of white that could only be the beach became bigger until they were directly over, a small pair of multicolored dots standing next to a large pile of wood. Micheal slowed the spinning of his fins, letting them lazily descend toward the beach, the two dots glancing up and jumping back in surprise at their sudden appearance. Maurananei ducked behind the shell, forcing herself to stay hidden as they came with at least seven feet of landing distance. Reese's wheelchair gently touched the ground, jolting him awake. "What's going on?" he asked groggily. Trey merely pointed up, too stunned for words as the Tolkobee hovered over them. Reese blinked and rubbed his eyes, unsure if they were playing tricks on him or not.

"Special delivery!" Micheal called down. He quickly angled one of his flippers so that it quickly cut the leather belt that held Reese to him, causing minor turbulence on Maurananei's part. The rest of the belt dropped harmlessly to the beach as Reese continued to gawk at him. "I'll be right back," he called down. "Reese, if you could start to figure out how these pieces go together?" he asked politely. Reese just nodded his head as Micheal turned around in place and flew off back to the forest, as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Kiko was breathing heavily, her labored breath echoing against the dank cave walls.

_This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't supposed to happen,_she thought to herself. She was having something to a mental breakdown. Something horrible had happened to her, and for once in her life she had something to do with it. _I guess that's not entirely true, _she thought with a frown. _Zelda could have hidden the watch better from me. Then I wouldn't have been tempted to try it out in the first place._ Deep down however, she knew she was wrong. Zelda had clearly told her that the watch needed testing, and what did she do? She went and tried it without the pink genius there to help her. She had gotten herself into this mess. _She _had done this to herself.

With a heavy sigh, Kiko slid down the clammy cave walls and rested her head on her knees, her arms wrapped around her head. Well, that wasn't entirely true; she still had one functioning arm, but due to her carelessness she had lost the other. It was instead a long, pinkish colored, octopus tentacle dripping wet sea slime from its suckers. The appendage was longer than Kiko's right arm, twisting and curving every now and then without Kiko's consensus. The prototype Animatrix had transformed only one part of her beautiful body, now turning her into a freak. She was pretty sure the watch had done other things to her as well; her skin was itchy, and whenever she scratched at it, little bits that looked like scales fell off; She found herself breathing through both her nose and something that had grown out of her neck, something that felt like a pair of gills; Her back itched terribly, and there was a dull pain as something smooth and pointed was mushed against the rock face behind her; Her eyes felt horribly itchy and irritable and she found she couldn't see very well for that matter, everything looking like one big blur; Kiko was sure her hair was having a wrestling match with itself, and she soon confirmed this when a pool of sea slime dripped down her face and onto the sea floor, the sound echoing through the cave.

Kiko then suddenly sat up. She hadn't realized how hot it was becoming, and the air felt thick and desolate, devoid of any moisture. Why did she care about moisture anyway? What was happening to her? Kiko didn't know and didn't care. What she _did _know was that she needed to find some water. _Fast._ She quickly stumbled to her feet, and nearly fainted when she suddenly felt a large, jointed crab leg split out of her right hip, reaching down the entire length of her now barnacle encrusted leg. "Oh, God, what's happening to me?" she wondered to herself as she staggered out of the cave and headed due West where she knew there was a river. She quickly found it and and knelt down, scooping some of the water out with her single hand and splashing it over her face. It felt good, cool and wet. She suddenly found she breath better than had moments before. But that quickly faded. She needed more water, now!

Seeing no other choice, she slipped into the river with a loud _splash_ and let the current carry her down stream as water flowed through her gills. Sighing, she let the cold, refreshing water consume her and fell into a deep sleep as the current carried her out to the lake.

* * *

Maurananei could see for miles from where she was on Micheal's back. She hadn't exactly been too happy when Micheal ruined her belt, but the fantastic view more than made up for it. The proud pine trees just looked like little spikes on a large green mat, the tops of oak and birch trees looking more round green marbles. She glanced down into a clearing at the base of one of the mountains to see Caroline struggling to push what looked like the stern of a small ship, a deep gouge in the dirt about half a dozen feet long behind her. _Poor kid, _she thought to herself. Once she was done with the mansion, she would have to ask Micheal for a lift back to help Caroline. They continued over the island, swooping low over a swamp to see Mitchell dragging a moss covered cannon with him, making much better progress than Caroline despite the terrain and several chard alligators that floated in the muck. Just on the edges of the swamp, she could see an unconscious Alan with a ship's steering wheel lying on the ground next to him. Maurananei would have yelled down at him to get the anchors out of his pants and get moving, but it looked like he had been attacked violently. She decided to cut him a little slack.

Maurananei spotted Zelda high up in a spruce tree, oblivious to them as she scoured the island for more ship pieces. They swept over Anuok and a large grizzly bear as they were trying to haul back the mighty stern of another ship and Trey and Mortisha as they jogged through the woods back towards the swamp. They soon were over Chris's freshly built estate, constructed on a lone island that was close to the larger one, connected by a long wooden bridge. They landed next to the front door, Micheal tapping the Animatrix symbol as Maurananei climbed off. "Sooo, we just go to town?" Micheal asked as Maurananei grabbed hold of a decorative lamp post and ripped it out of the ground, holding it like a giant baseball bat.

"Lets get our destruction on!" she cackled.

* * *

"I think that just about does it." Maurananei said as she tossed her mangled lamp post aside. The mansion (cottage?) was a wreck, to put it lightly. Two massive holes in the North and South ends of the mansion were created by a rhinoceros that was currently shoving Chris's Egyptian cotton sheet bed into the lake. The furniture, everything from the plush cushion couches and velvet chairs to the priceless vases and statues was destroyed, smashed and broken to bits. The paintings that depicted Chris as hundreds of famous heroes were torn to shreds. There were several Maurananei shaped holes in the walls, and the bathroom and kitchen sinks were spewing forth gallons of water. A rhino wearing a large, thick red collar around its neck stomped down the stairs to the bottom floor, taking out the shiny, bronze banister with a twist of its head. The animal snorted and shoved its way past Maurananei and through the front door, ripping the frame out from the wall (they had originally come in through another hole in the wall, not bothering to use the front door). A bright flash followed, and Maurananei briefly saw the returning shape of Micheal before he changed form again, turning into small hare that bounded away as soon as the red light faded. Maurananei sighed. Looked like she was going to have to walk back.

* * *

"And it looks like the Rhinos have things just about wrapped up!" Chris announced with fake glee. Reese had long since figured out how to assemble the pieces, and once the other returned, everything would be smooth sailing, provided they didn't lose the last challenge. Meanwhile, Mitchell had dragged the rusted cannon all the way to beach and was currently dressing several nasty bites all over his body. Maurananei and Caroline were just on the edges of the beach, pushing the piece of ship stern toward the their small pile as Alan staggered out of the woods with the captain's wheel in his shaky hands. "C'mon! Hurry up!" Maurananei yelled as a large ship's bow came skidding out of the woods, plowing its way through the dirt and sand. Zelda appeared behind it and gave it a round house kick, sending it skidding it to where Mitchell was resting. She then jogged over and motioned for Maurananei and Caroline to hurry up. Maurananei gritted her teeth and gave the stern of the ship a big shove, pushing it several feet and causing Caroline to lose her balance and fall on her face. Maurananei ignored her and pushed the stern towards the bow of the ship, a surprisingly audible _click _sounding off as the two pieces connected. Mitchell staggered to his feet and lugged the cannon over to the ship, Maurananei stealing it from his grasp and tossing it up onto the deck with a loud _bang!_

The ground started to shiver and quake, and everyone turned to see a pair of elephants, one a large African Bull wearing a thick red collar, and a smaller Asian Cow. Anuok, her knuckles turning white, clung onto the wiry hairs of the Asian tusker, a thick rope around each of the animal's necks. Behind them, shoving trees and brush aside as they were dragged along, was the stern of a wooden ship and a large cannon covered in lichen and pine needles. The elephant's trumpeted in unison as the cast, along with Chris and Chef, dove aside to avoid getting trampled. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Reese cried as he shield himself with his arms, only to have the two pachyderms skid to a halt just a foot away from him. Anuok hopped down from the Asian elephant and untied the ropes to both the animals as each of them grabbed their luggage in their trunks, hauling it over to the pile with ease. Once Reese was sure he wasn't going to be squished, he quickly began to direct the elephant's movements, guiding the animal's to put the ship together as they were the only ones big enough to do the job. Eventually they had a large wooden ship slightly bigger than both elephants combined. The mast towered over them all as Anuok unfurled the sail from the crows nest. Reese, aboard the ship, gave the cannon a quick shine as Micah blasted the weapon with a jet of water from his trunk, accidentally dousing the crippled boy in the process. As Reese dried himself with his shirt, Anuok slid down the mast like a fireman's pole and handed him her notepad. Reese read it over before handing it back to her.

"According to Anuok, we only have five pieces!" he yelled "We need one more. Has anyone seen Trey and Mortisha?" Micheal rumbled and pointed towards the forest with his trunk. Then he looped the appendage around Reese's wheelchair and lifted it up onto his back, Toni using her trunk to do the same to Anuok. The pair of elephant's then lumbered off into the forest, knocking over several trees in the process, much to Chris's annoyance. "At this rate, we won't have an island to do another season on." he sighed as Chef shook his head with disappointment.

"We just need . . . . . two more pieces." Zelda told her team, pausing to count off on her fingers. "And has anyone seen Kiko anywhere?" The Eagles paused from their work to glance around in search of the young adult. She was no where in sight. "Where is that **BEEP!**" Maurananei cursed, stomping a foot in frustration. "How are we supposed to win when we're down a player!?" she screamed before an eye occurred to her, glancing at the Rhino's ship. "An idea has just occurred to me." she muttered with a sly smile. "Zelda and Alan search the North side of the island; Caroline, I'll meet you near the creek. Me and Mitchell have some things to take care of." she said, rubbing her hands together manically. Her team mates gave a confused look, but headed off anyways.

* * *

"I found the second cannon!" Mortisha cried with glee. Trey staggered up to Mortisha, leaning on her as he gasped for breath. The large, metal weapon sat in the middle of a dark clearing, mossy vines draped over it. "Finally. Now all we have to do is-" Trey started before something leaped out of the trees and landed on the ground with a _thud _directly between them and the cannon. "Oh, no! Not him! Anyone but him!" Trey wailed as a hungry Fangdroid 2.0 licked its chops. Before Trey and Mortisha could even take a step, the robot's eyes glowed red as metal panels on its skin slid back to reveal blasters that whined as they charged up. A pair of rockets popped out of the shark's back as it's claws popped out just a little, implying they were detachable.

"Okay, that guy is not right in the head!" Trey cried.

"You're talking about Chris, right?" Mortisha asked.

"Do you think I was talking about anybody else!?" Trey cried as a fiery red laser struck the ground at his feet. "Hit the deck!"

_**Confessional**_

"Well you don't to be so snappy about it," Mortisha huffed. "I mean, someone _else _could have built the robot!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"It's official: I hate Chris." Trey growled, putting out a tiny flame in his hair as smoke curled off his chard body.

_**End Confessional**_

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Trey cried as he dove behind a rock, a red hot laser beam following closely behind him until it turned its attention to Mortisha. The small girl was laughing with glee as jumped forward and bounced off her hands, flipping and twisting in the air as the laser beams fried the air just inches behind her. Fang growled and raised his claw tips, firing them off in trails of smoke after Mortisha. They exploded in the air in clouds of smoke as Mortisha cackled maniacally. "Hit me with your best shot, Fish Breath!" she yelled, prompting the droid to open its mouth and unleash a wave of fire.

_**Confessional**_

"FIRE!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Trey screamed.

_**End Confessional**_

"Come on, you Tin Can!" Mortisha yelled. "Give me your best shot!" she screamed as she bounced off a tree and aimed a foot at Fang's head. The shark merely grabbed hold of her foot and whirled her around over his head before slamming her against a tree. The small girl groaned and slid down the trunk to the ground, unmoving. The shark then fired a laser at the rock Trey was cowering behind, blowing it to pieces as Trey went flying into the air, landing at the shark's feet. He looked up and smiled nervously as Fang growled, show casing his hundreds of sharp teeth. Trey gulped nervously, slowly reaching for his trusty bass guitar as he crept backwards on his toes and fingers. Fang watched with a steel gaze until Trey was about a yard from him when he sprang up on his feet and belted out a loud note on his guitar, screaming like a banshee as he did. The sound was earth-shattering, blowing back Fang's gums as the metal plating was peeled off of him, revealing his sparking wires and shaking gadgetry. Trees were bent back by the force, their branches ripping free as the Fangbot suddenly exploded, the wires sparking and smoking as the headless droid fell to the ground, lifeless.

"**NOOOOO!" **Chris's voice wailed over the loud speakers. **"Not my baby!"**

Trey cracked a smile as he strapped his guitar back to his back and walked up to the cannon, brushing off the vines and moss that covered it. A moan sounded off to his left, and he turned to see Mortisha climb to her faltering feet with a nasty bump the size of a golf ball on her head. She rubbed it sorely and lurched over to Trey with a pained smile on her face. "Nice job, _Barney_." she said. Trey froze before grabbing his bass guitar and holding it like a club at her. "How do you know about that?" he asked in a threatening manner. Mortisha was unfazed as she answered him. "I dunno. I just kinda figured it out on my own. Your hidden stash of beer was an obvious hint, too." she said with a light laugh. Trey lowered his guitar. "You didn't take any, did you?" he asked with a little concern in his voice. Mortisha cracked another smile and dug into her cloak, pulling out a half empty bottle. Trey's eyes widened as he snatched the bottle from her small hands. "Don't go digging around in my stuff!" he yelled. "Are you even old enough to be drinking!?"

"I'm the same age as you." Mortisha stated with defiance. "And I'll be taking my bottle back, thank you very much." she said, stealing it from Trey's grasp. Before trey could protest, she popped the bottle open and chugged the rest of the liquid down in one gulp before forcing the vial into her mouth and crunching it into dust with one bite. Trey's eye twitched in shock, fear, and annoyance as Mortisha hiccuped and spit out the shards of glass from her mouth, her tongue and gums somehow making it out unscathed. Trey slapped his head and sighed. "Whatever. I better not hear from your parents about this," he growled. Mortisha gave him a thumbs up and the two got behind the cannon and pushed.

Suddenly, the earth shook beneath them as a pair of large elephants crashed through the underbrush, trunks swinging from side to side to clear the vegetation that wasn't crushed under their large feet. Trey and Mortisha fell back as Anuok jumped down from the back of one of the large beast and tied it around the cannon, looping it around the thick neck of her pachyderm. She then jumped back up as Reese motioned for the pair to hop on. Mortisha and Trey shared a look before climbing on, the large African Bull going first to clear yet another path as the Asian Cow lumbered behind him, dragging the cannon with her. The elephants let out a loud trumpet in triumph, they were so close to their goal. Mortisha cheered as leaves slapped at them, Trey deciding to take the time to grab some sleep. Mortisha's howling had kept up all night; it was a wonder he hadn't collapsed from exhaustion. He soon fell asleep, lulled into slumber by the elephant's steady, swaying movements.

* * *

Trey was standing in the middle of a large field. The sky was black as the full moon shone in the night. The grass beneath his feet was sparse and dry, barely even alive as a cool breeze below across the plane. A few old, gnarled trees dotted the landscape as a lone wolf howled in the distance. Trey looked around and noticed a crouched figure at the base of a leafless tree, completely still except for the occasional movement of its cloak. Raising an eyebrow, Trey walked over to the figure and knelt down, gently poking the figure in what he assumed to be the shoulder. "Um, hello?" he said quietly. The figure shifted, a feminine voice mumbling a "hello" back. The figure moved again, and the black hood of the cloak drew back to reveal an angel. Trey gasped as her pale, white face glowed in the night, her ruby red lips eyes, her raven black hair shining a little bit in the moonlight. Trey breathed as the figure rose up to her full height, exactly one inch shorter than he was. Before he could resist the figure pulled him in a hug, resting her head against his chest. Trey awkwardly wrapped his arms around her thin waist, actually seemingly to enjoy it a little. Just why did he like it so much? The figure suddenly moved her head back and pecked him on the cheek, causing him to turn red.

"I love you, Barney." the girl said as she rested her head on his chest again.

* * *

Trey startled awake, face down in the sand as the world shook around him. He yanked his head out of the ground, spitting out a mouthful of earth to see an angry Asian elephant chasing a terrified Mitchell around the beach as a large African elephant was spraying water from its trunk on a pile of firewood. _Wait a minute. Isn't that where our ship was?_ Trey thought before panic over came him. "NO!" he yelled in frustration as Mitchell dashed by with the enraged elephant close behind and Anuok, Mortisha, and Reese all holding onto the tail in an attempt to slow the beast down with little affect. The cannon sat just to Trey's left as Maurananei walked out of the woods with a large ship's mast over her shoulder and a wicked smile on her face. Caroline hung helplessly from the timber, her entire body a good foot off the ground. Maurananei gave a shake and Caroline fell off as Maurananei walked up the gangplank of their ship and jabbed it into it's hole, the sail unfurling to show a bronze Eagle. Trey sighed and put his face into his hands as Mitchell, Toni the Elephant, and their little friends took another lap around the beach.

* * *

"What have I told you about standing too close to me?" Zelda hissed to Alan as they walked through the woods. Alan quickly took a sidestep to his left, unaware he had even been that close to the pink genius. The pair walked along, Zelda throwing glares at him every couple of minutes. Alan studied her for a few moments before sucking in a deep breath. "Why do you hate me so much?" he asked out of the blue. Zelda jerked to a stop and turned to him with a confused look on her face. "What did you say?"

"Why do you hate me?" Alan repeated.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. I don;t hate you at all. I absolutely _love _it when people decide to come watch me take a shower without any common sense at all." she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "So, you don;t hate?" Alan asked, confused.

"OF COURSE I HATE YOU, YOU **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**" Zelda roared before something caught her eye, a shining piece of metal hidden in a large shrub. Without another word she ran towards the bush and pulled out another large cannon as Alan sniffed behind her, clearly hurt. Zelda ignored him and pushed the cannon towards the beach, Alan sulking behind her.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I admit I probably went too far with trying to flirt with her," Alan sighed. "But now she completely hates my guts with every fiber of her being. I'll never get her to like em!" he wailed, a small tear leaking down his face.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yes, I hate him," Zelda said with her arms crossed over her chest. "I know he has a huge crush on me and all, but that's not not going to help his case. He ever even wants to earn my trust again, he's gonna have to do something big. Even bigger than the sun's 865,374 mile circumference." she said with a huff.

_**End Confessional**_

The two teens soon returned to the beach, to find a bizarre spectacle: a game of tug o' war between both teams, the Rhinos consisting of Micheal and Toni still in their elephant forms and the Eagles made of Maurananei and Caroline, with Anuok, Mortisha, and a very nervous Reese pulling from the Eagles end. The rope was, unfortunately, of poor Mitchell, and the furious elephant's were slowly winning, despite Caroline trying to convince them to let go.

"Can you do something right for once, and push the cannon over to our ship? Apparently I have to help save Mitchell." she told Alan as she ran off to the group. Alan sullenly nodded and began to push the cannon towards his team's ship, barely making any progress. Zelda ran to the edge of the forest, glancing wildly around before she found what she was looking for. With a long branch, she reached up into the reaches of a large oak tree and slapped something to the ground before jabbing and whacking several times. The object was oval shaped and making a very loud buzzing sound as a cloud of bees flew out and swarmed in the air above Zelda. The girl quickly ran towards the other teens, the angry bees behind her. She quickly ran between the two groups, jumping over a stretched Mitchell. The groups quickly stopped their argument in favor of running away as the bees swarmed over them, the pair of elephants trumpeting in fear and stampeding towards the lake, the tips of their trunks just above the surface as the others dived in and the cloud of angry bees swarmed above.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced, dressed in a beekeeper suit. Chef stood next to him with an amused expression on his face as the contestants poked their heads above the lake, only to get stung by the aggravated bees. "The Eagles win, thanks to Alan's pitiful amount of strength and Maurananei's suicidal plan!" Chris said with a laugh. "If I were Mitchell, I wouldn't be trusting Maurananei anytime soon." he chuckled as Maurananei threw him one of her famous death looks. "And now . . ." Chris began as he pulled out another one of his many remotes and pressed the big red button on it, and both ships (intact and not) blew up in a fiery explosion!

"I will blow up your ships!" Chris finished as the contestants complained and yelled at him.

"Why'd you make us do all that hard work!?" Reese yelled as Mortisha and Trey swam over to keep his wheelchair from sinking beneath the surface.

"I needed some alone time," Chris said placidly. "Plus, I figured you would much appreciate these!" Chris yelled, pointing behind the contestants. The cast turned in the water to see two enormous pirate ships with massive masts and sails, mighty sterns, and figureheads of Bridgette and Geoff. And speaking of such, each one was behind the helm of one of the might ships.

"What's up, dudes!?" Geoff called down from the wheel of the Rhino's ships with his usual smile on his face.

"Hello down there!" Bridgette cried from the Eagle's ship. The contestants grinned as they paddled to shore, the ships staying a safe distance behind them as they made their way towards shore. Micheal gave Mortisha and Trey a break and grabbed Reese's wheelchair in his trunk as the pair climbed onto his broad back. Anuok and Toni soon made it to shore after them as the Eagle's made it next to them. The ships docked on the sand a couple minutes after them, and both past contestants slid down the anchor chains like a fire man's pole with big grins on their faces. "Hey, dudes!" Geoff said as he pulled Mitchell, Trey, and Reese into a bro hug. Bridgette gave a hug to each girl (shivering after hugging Mortisha) and scratched both elephant's under their chins, earning a low purring from both of them.

"Enough with the touchy-feely-moments!" Chris yelled as he took his beekeeping mask off. "Bridgette! Geoff! If you're done getting cozy with the cast, I would appreciate it if you could both assist me in finding Kiko. Apparently she's gone missing, and I am much too busy care otherwise." Chris said, swiping a lock of luscious, black hair out of his face. Bridgette and Geoff both shared a look and waved good-bye to the cast as they ran down the beach, out of sight.

"Now then! If there are no more interruptions," Chris said with a ticked look. "The second part of your challenge will be to have an epic pirate battle!" he announced with a smile. "This is gonna be wicked!"

* * *

"Each of your ships is outfitted with a dozen cannons, each of which you will be able to fire some of Chef's famous Swedish Meatballs!" Chris said as Chef pulled out a plate of seemingly harmless meatballs. Chef then picked one up and dropped it to the deck, punching all the way through to the bottom deck with a hollow _thud_. "The main goal of this challenge is to be the last man or woman standing. If you hit the water, you're out of the challenge! Last person standing wins!" he said with enthusiasm. "And to make things interesting, you will all be forced to dress up in standard pirate garb!" he announced, throwing them all a set of clothes and pointing towards the heads of the ships. "Now, go!" he yelled.

A couple minutes later, each player set out onto the decks of their ships, dressed to impress. Micheal sported a tri-horned captain's hat with a red trim and a black captain's jacket over a white shirt. Several knives were strapped over his chest and a pistol sat in the holster in his baggy brown pants and large boots. A giant sword bigger than him was strapped his back, and a gold tooth was stuck in his mouth that gleamed in the sunlight when he smiled.

Trey sported a piece of torn, red cloth around his head with a brown vest over a stained white shirt and black jeans with boots and his trusty guitar strapped to his back. A couple necklaces of red jewels were looped around his neck and a golden ring earring was in his ear. Next to him was Mortisha with an eye patch over one eye, a blue bandana around her head. She wore her black cloak and a single leather shoulder pad on her right shoulder with a pair of black boots. A pair of small swords sat in their sheaths, waiting to be used.

Toni wore a captain;s hat similar to Micheal's as she polished her dagger and shined her steel armor, held together by brass buttons and leather straps. Large boots were on her feet, and her hair was braided into dreadlocks decorated with beads. Anuok was dressed in a captain's jacket covered in brass buttons and clasps with a large belt that separated her white, ruffled shirt and black pants that covered her brown boots. She swung around a small anchor attached to a length of chain with little effort with her daggers in her back pockets.

And small Reese wore a red and white striped shirt with a red bandana on his head and a small hook attached to his left hand. He wore torn khaki shorts with his bare feet and had a small golden earring jabbed into his ear. All the poor cabin boy had to defend himself with was a small dagger as the rest of his crew bellowed a war cry.

On the other ship, the Eagle's had just walked out of the captain's quarters, dressed in full pirate garb. Maurananei had a tri-horned captain's hat on her head and a brown shirt with a black vest over it. She wore a pair of brown, baggy pants with large black boots. She had a large battle ax attached to her back, ready to be used at a moments noticed. Caroline stood next to her wearing a black and white striped shirt and a black headband around her head and a pair of daggers in her hands. Her golden earrings glinted in the sunlight as Alan, who was prone to seasickness, vomited on her boots. The ill boy was dressed in a gray captain's jacket and wore a red bandana around his head. A sword was attached to his belt, and he wore a pair of torn pants and boots.

As Caroline tried to wash off her vomit covered boots, Mitchell swung down from the crow's nest, sporting a pair of lean black boots, baggy, torn pants, blue shirt, and black bandana with a skull and crossbones on it. Zelda then swung down on a rope, her costume drastically different than her team mates. She wore pink and white striped leggings under her pink boots. A pink belt with a golden buckle shone in the sunlight as she straight her pink vest over her white shirt and captain's hat. Her bo staff was sheathed over her back, and she wore two rows of throwing stars over her chest as she focused her black eye patch.

"I'll admit, you losers actually look cool for once," Chris said with a laugh as he flew by on his trusty jet pack. "Oh! One more thing; we have faithfully stocked the lake with giant jellyfish and electric eels, just to make things interesting!" Chris cackled as a jelly fish the size of an elephant floated between the two ships. The contestants gasped as the large animal passed them and disappeared into the deep. "And because the Eagles won the last challenge, they get a second chance at the challenge should they fall in the water. GO!" Chris yelled, blowing his trusty air horn.

The Eagles quickly leaped into action, Maurananei taking the helm as Zelda climbed into the rigging as Mitchell scaled the crows nest. Not wanting to be useless, Alan and Caroline rushed to the side of the ship and grabbed hold of a long plank that sat on the deck. Together, they shouldered it to the railing and shoved it across the gap between the ships, the other end smacking down on the railing with a loud _thunk._ The duo yelled and charged across the plank, trying not to look down, and jumped to the deck, trying to look as scary as possible. "Don't be alarmed, we're taking over your ship!" Alan said in a loud, calm manner to the crew of the _Geoff's Pride_.

"AYE! AVAST!" Caroline yelled, thrusting forward with a dagger and promptly tripped and fell on her face as the Rhino's burst into fits of laughter before calming down and then truly scaring the crap out of the two weaklings. Micheal grinned and activated his Animatrix, once again turning into his four armed Nisilaha form. The large creature wore Micheal's outfit, but had suddenly grown a braided beard with beads in it. Four large and incredibly sharp swords appeared in each of his arms as he yelled a battle cry. Anuok swung down from the rigging and proceeded to take out a dozen barrels with her anchor win one shot, swinging it across the deck. Trey unstrapped his bass guitar and held it in a threatening manner, smacking it against his hand as he cackled. Mortisha, who was next to him, unsheathed her swords and put them in an X shape, catching the glint of the sun in their reflection. Reese gulped and yelled as he threw a dagger at Alan's feet. A large tiger covered in battle armor slunk out of the shadows of the main mast and out into full view as the whole crew assembled together, becoming an incredibly terrifying fighting force.

"I think it's time we beat a hasty retreat, don't you?" Caroline gulped.

"Retreat? Hah! I don't know the meaning of the word!" Alan yelled. "Seriously, what does it mean?"

"It's like running away but manlier." Caroline explained.

"Oh. Well, then, I say we go with your plan. RETREAT!" he cried at the top of his lungs as both teens hurried across the gangplank with the entire Rhinos team behind them yelling and roaring at the top of their lungs. Maurananei heard the noise and glanced down from her position at the wheel and groaned.

I really hate those two clowns," she sighed as she stomped down the stairs to the deck. "Man your stations, men! Caroline and Alan just brought the entire crew over for a play date!" she roared.

"Play date? Are we seriously taking a break in the middle of a challenge to play games?" Zelda called down from the rigging. Maurananei face palmed and yelled back at her. "It's just an expression! Get the anchors out of your pants and make them walk the plank!" she roared as she unsheathed her sword and ran toward a fleeing Alan and Caroline.

_**Confessional**_

"Excuse me for being confused," Zelda growled. "As great of a leader as she is, she's really starting to grind my last nerve and I've only been on this team for a day. Speaking of which, I wonder where Kiko is. I hope she hasn't been tampering with the watch." Zelda wondered in a worried tone.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

Kiko cracked open her eyes, a bright light blinding her vision. She groaned and covered her eyes with her hand, only to have it droop onto her face and remain them, stuck fast. Kiko yelled and pulled, the arms covering off with a popping sound. She looked at the appendage and screamed, a cloud of bubbles coming out of her mouth as she realized she was underwater. The events of the past couple of hours came flooding back to her and she nearly cried as she looked herself over to find herself a bigger freak than before. Sharp fins had appeared on her arms and ankles, and even bigger barnacles to the large sea turtle shell that had appeared on her back. Clumps of seaweed and shells stuck fast on random spots on her scaly body, and she soon found that she had a third arm, composing of a large crab claw. Sharp, shark-like teeth had replaced her own, and an eel-like tail had sprouted from her spine. She could barely recognize herself anymore. Tears met her eyes, but they were impossible to sea under the surface of the lake. _Oh, God, what have I become?_ she thought.

Suddenly, she sensed something, a presence enter the water. She felt a welling instinct inside her to go after the thing and attack it, rip apart viciously with her teeth and reveal in the taste of blood. She quickly stowed that feeling away, opting to follow the more curious side of her. She climbed to her feet and swam toward the being in the water, in a completely unorthodox motion of paddling with her arms and moving her new tail from side to side as her gills sucked in water. She was about halfway to the being when she felt something inside her move and push towards the surface of skin. She instantly began to panic as a large bump formed on her forehead and spat forth a long fleshy wire with a little attached to it, similar to an angler fish. She felt her teeth become serrated and more needle-like as they forced themselves out of her mouth to curl up and over her top lip, creating an exaggerated under bite. She felt something forming like vile in the back of her throat and she instinctively coughed it up to reveal a sharp, parrot-like beak attached to a sort of fleshy hose. She could feel fins forming on the side of her head as an itchy feeling became known to her on her hips and back. They revealed nothing knew, so she ignored them for the most part. Once she was sure the extra additions to her new form were over she swam forward again, faster than before due to her extra fins and aerodynamics. She lurked on the bottom of the lake and moved towards the shore, her senses telling her that she was close to what she was looking for.

"Are you sure using the water is the best way to find Kiko?" Bridgette asked in a skeptical tone.

"'Cha! Not only will be easy travel, but we catch some awesome waves while we're at it!" Geoff said with a laugh as he and Bridgette straddled a surfboard together. The young couple had found an old surfboard in one of the island's few buildings and had decided to take the opportunity to relax while searching for the missing contestant. Bridgette smiled and sighed leaning back on the board to rest on Geoff's chest as he paddled along. Things couldn't have been better when Geoff felt something brush up against his leg.

"Um, Bridge? You _do _know how to treat a jellyfish sting, right?" he asked with a nervous tone.

"Yeah? Why do you ask?" Bridgette asked her boyfriend, sitting up with concern.

"Just in case one of the monster jellyfish from the challenge drifted over here. I think there's something in the water." Geoff said.

"You mean like fish?" Bridgette laughed. "C'mon Geoff, it's probably just Chris trying to scare us. We're too old to fall for tricks like– AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Bridgette screamed as she felt something move against her leg and something slimy wrap around it before she jerked her leg out of the water. The two teens huddled together on the board as a large fin broke the surface of the water and edged closer, glimpses of other things popping up every now and then. And then, just as it had suddenly appeared it, it was gone.

"What was that?" Bridgette asked with a scared voice.

"I dunno, babe. But whatever it is, it's freaking me out!"

"RRRRAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a loud and hoarse roar sounded as a large creature surfaced in front of them. Slimy tentacles twisted and churned the water as the creature's wicked jaws snapped open and shut, the tentacle-beak sliding in and out every now and then. The monster was hideous, like a twisted combination of hundreds of sea creatures rolled into one. The animal moved forward, and both Bridgette and Geoff screamed and dove off the board, swimming towards shore. The creature roared again and dove under the water, giving chase after them until they finally reached shore. The two gasped for air and climbed across the shore, staying well away from the water as the creature seemingly gave up.

_**Confessional**_

"Seriously!? Another mutant?" Bridgette complained to the camera. "You've gone to far Chris! Too far!" sh yelled, jabbing a finger at the camera.

_**Change Confessional**_

"I have never been so scared of the water in my life, man." Geoff squeaked as he assumed a fetal position and rocked back and forth on his heels.

_**End Confessional**_

"I think we're safe, babe." Geoff said with a sigh of relief. "I don't think it can move out of water."

He was quickly proven wrong when the creature's shell moved towards the shallowest part of the shore and slowly inched its way up the beach. Bridgette screamed as Geoff grabbed a tree branch and held it in a threatening manner as the creature quickly drew up to it's full height of seven feet. It walked on two pairs of crab-like legs with a large claw on its left and a slimy octopus tentacle on its right. Her human hair might have been was a withering nest of sea anemone tentacles and seaweed. A large turtle shell was on the h=back with two shark-like fins breaking out of the surface. The shell was covered in barnacles and seashells, with a slimy eel-like tail at the end. The creature had angler-fish like teeth and sharp fins on it's arms and legs, a glowing protrusion on its forehead, and large glowing dots on its hips. But what surprised both teens the most was that there appeared to be a pair of limp and seemingly useless human legs attached to the creature, just between its jointed crab legs. A shriveled human arm was nearly concealed under the giant crab claw, and it seemed to have an almost human face that looked on them with a pleading expression.

"RRRRAAAAAAA-GGGGGGHHHH!" the monster bellowed as it tiptoed closer. Geoff lashed out with his tree branch, but the creature caught it in its claw and snapped it in two. Geoff reached for a large rock, but was stopped when Bridgette held his hand back. "Hold on, Geoff! I think I know what's going on here." she said in a calm tone. Geoff cocked an eyebrow but remained silent. Once Bridgette was sure he wouldn't try anything, she slowly walked up to the creature with slow and deliberate movements. The monster cocked its head and lowered itself down to her level, still being about foot taller than her. Bridgette reached out with a hand gently touched the creature's face, expecting it to take her hand off with one quickly movement of its lethal jaws.

Except it didn't.

Bridgette cracked open an eye and breathed, not even realizing she had been holding her breath. She felt something on her finger tips and looked to see a river of salty tears streaming down the creature's face. Before she could move, the monster pulled her into a hug, wrapping it's large tentacle and claw around her. The single human arm entwined its fingers into her blonde locks as it cried freely, its breaths big and labored. Geoff, meanwhile, was more confused than he had ever been in his whole life. He slowly reached for a rock, but was cut short by a warning look from Bridgette.

"Geoff, this isn't just some hideous monster," Bridgette said calmly as she gently stroked the creature's anemone hair, which was surprisingly devoid of any stingers. "I think this is Kiko."

"What? Are you crazy!?" Geoff yelled and threw up his arms. The monster roared and held Bridgette tighter, loosening its grip on her when Geoff backed off a little ways. Bridgette put a finger to her lips. "Shhhh. Come on, it's okay." she said in a gently voice. The creature, suddenly plopped onto the ground, its crab-like legs splayed haphazardly across the sand as Bridgette continued to stroke her hair. "Geoff." she whispered. "Come closer. And don't make any sudden movements. Just gently pet her, or she'll go crazy." she hissed to a nervous Geoff. The party dude stiffly nodded and edged closer, reaching out with a finger for one of the crab's legs. He gently touched it, and the creature sucked in a large breath. Geoff froze, but the creature didn't attack. Geoff breathed a sigh of relief and put both hands on the jointed leg, gently rubbing them up and down the appendage as the creature apparently purred with pleasure. Bridgette smiled and gave a small yelp as the monster suddenly dropped her to the sand. Bridgette shook her head and looked closer at the monster before her. "Kiko? Can you understand us?" she asked quietly.

The creature slowly nodded and suddenly spoke in a low, raspy voice.

"Heeeeeelp meeeeehhhhhhhhhh." she gasped.

* * *

"Do us a favor," Maurananei growled as she parried another blow from Micheal with the staff of her axe. Caroline and Alan were each battling one of Micheal's four arms, each attack each parried with ease. For all they were doing, they might as well having been poking him with a Q-tip.

"I know it's rather difficult for you," Maurananei said to the pair. "But please, just stay here and try not to do anything . . . stupid." Alan and Caroline frowned and slunk away. Maurananei sighed. She didn't _want _to hurt her team mates feeling, especially Caroline; The girl was already a nervous wreck. But they unfortunately, practically useless on the battlefield, er deck. Sure, they might be able to take Reese on in his deteriorated condition, but they were virtually useless anywhere else. She would have sent them below decks to work the cannons, but she was pretty sure they wouldn't even be able to lift up any of Chef's meatballs, much less fire one out of a cannon.

"Caroline! Alan! Go below deck!" Maurananei yelled as she back flipped to dodge a brutal attack by Micheal. The pair looked at each other and stalked below decks, unsure of what to do as the battle raged overhead. Yells of fury and pain echoed through the hollow wooden hall, loud booms and and dull thuds shaking the deck. Alan sighed. "I feel completely useless." he said as he slid down the wall to the floor. Caroline sighed and fell to the floor onto her face, ignoring the dull pain in her head.

"At least none of can be eliminated. With us out of the way, we're guaranteed to win." Caroline said in a muffled voice. They each sat there for what seemed hours, but was only a couple minutes. "I got an idea!" Alan said suddenly, jumping to his feet and promptly hitting his head on one of the beams overhead. Caroline turned her face on her side to look at him, listening. "Why don't we sink the Rhino's ship?" he wondered.

"None of us can lift the stupid meatball into the cannon." Caroline sighed, sitting up.

"Yeah, alone. Together we should be strong enough to at least tilt it into the barrel." Alan said energetically. Caroline smiled and got up from the floor and ran over to a barrel full of hard, rock-like balls; Chef's famous Swedish Meatballs. Together, they wrapped their fingers and heaved it out of the barrel, falling to the floor under the weight of the round food. "What does he put in these things, cement!?" Alan cried underneath the brutal weight.

_**Confessional**_

"How's a self respect cook supposed ta have a best sellin' recipe with a secret ingredient if anyone can guess what it is!?" Chef complained. "It just ain't right."

_**End Confessional**_

After a couple of agonizing minutes on Alan's part, they finally managed to slide the meatball into the barrel of cannon. Caroline found a packet of matches and struck one against the cannon, lighting the wick and crouching down, covering her ears and waiting for the blast. Alan was about to do the same when he saw something skitter past his feet, looking down to see a cockroach the size of a rat.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, jumping up and hitting his head on the barrel of the cannon and setting it straight up, just as it fired, creating a large hole in the deck as it sailed skyward. "That can't be good." Alan said nervously.

* * *

"ARR!" Zelda cried as she deflected a blow from Anuok. The pink pirate was jumping around in the labyrinth of rigging and ropes in the canopy of her team's ship, dodging attacks from Anuok's anchor. A large sweeping move had cutting her off from several short cuts and escape routes, slowing her movements as she was forced to evade Anuok's every move. She reached for a sheath of throwing stars and was ready to throw them when something about the size of a bowling ball slammed into her side, sending her to the deck. She slammed into the floor and groaned, then cried out in pain when said object smashed into her backside, sending her crashing through the deck and into the bowls of the ship. She groaned and rolled the object off of her sore back to find Alan and Caroline cowering behind a large cannon, a large Swedish meatball at the base. She quickly deduced it was the meatball that had caused her to fall, and that Alan or Caroline had fired it out of the cannon. She decided it was most likely Alan being himself: a complete idiot.

"So, you like cannons, eh?" she growled, drawing up to her full height. Before Alan could even scream, she grabbed him by the neck and stuffed him into the cannon, all that was visible being his red bandana. Zelda snatched the pack of matches from Caroline's shaking hands and struck it against the cannon and lit the wick, tilting the cannon downward so that it was aimed toward the other ship.

"FIRE ONE!" Zelda yelled as the cannon sounded off a loud _boom _and shot Alan out of the ship, screaming at the top of his lungs as he crashed through the hull of the ship with ease, water gushing into the hole made by Alan's head as Micheal could be heard yelling, "Stop firing at my ship!"

_**Confessional**_

"I always knew he had a thick skull," Zelda said with a smile. "Anyone who's that annoying and obnoxious has to have one. It just makes sense."

_**End Confessional**_

Zelda smiled and turned to a cowering Caroline. "Please don't hurt me." she squeaked. Zelda rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you. Alan just gets on my nerves. _A lot._" she told the small girl. "Now, come on. Just because Maurananei wants to keep you safe, doesn't me you can't help in some way." she said with a smile before dashing towards the stairs leading to the main deck. Caroline hesitated, but followed her anyway.

She soon found herself in the middle of an all out brawl, the clanging of swords echoing through the air as the contestants fought each other to the death. Mitchell was hurling down hot coals at Trey, who sent right back by using his guitar like a baseball bat. Both Micheal and Maurananei were locked in mortal combat, slashing and swinging at each other with their swords and ax. "Mortisha! Catch!" Micheal suddenly yelled as he reached with a free arm and pulled out his blunderbuss from its holster. The small girl caught it with a hand and fired it at an unsuspecting Maurananei, the subsistence exploding on contact and consuming her in a small fire ball. "What is this?" Mortisha wondered, looking inside the gun.

"Exploding Gum!" Chris answered from the safety of his jet pack as he watched from a safe distance. Just as he said that, Mortisha fired off a couple rounds of exploding gum at Zelda, who skillfully dodged all of them with impressive flips and springs until she landed right in front of the creepy girl, her bo staff jabbed at her throat. "You're move, _pirate_." she growled. Mortisha took one look between Zelda's staff and the blunderbuss before raising it to the side of her head. "Hasta la vista, sucker!" she cackled as she pulled the trigger and shot a wad of explosive gum into her hair. The small explosion rocked the deck, causing everyone to fall to their feet as Mortisha was sent over the side, laughing with joy as she plummeted into the water was entangled in the tentacles of a large jellyfish. The light show that could only mean electric eels soon followed.

Micheal sighed and went back to attacking Maurananei with two of his hands, while the other two deflected blows from Zelda, now down a sparring partner. Micheal grunted and blocked a whack from Zelda's staff just as Maurananei swung her ax and hit him with the flat side of her blade. Micheal roared in pain and was forced to back up the steps to the helm as Zelda and Maurananei worked in unison, Zelda swinging low and Maurananei swinging high as Micehal was forced to retreat and defend himself with all four swords. Grunting, he thrust all of his swords forward, forcing the girls to fall back a bit as he raised all four swords for a grand finish. All of a sudden, two of his swords were knocked free from his hands to fall into the lake below. All three turned to look up in the crows nest to see Mitchell holding a ball of bright flame, flashing a smile before hurling another ball at Micheal. The Nisilaha crossed both swords over his face and deflected the hot coals back at Mitchell, hitting him square in the face and knocking him to the deck below. He moaned and sat up, only to hit from the side and pushed overboard by a Siberian Tiger clad in battle armor. The big cat roared as Mitchell screamed in pain, the eels and jellyfish making short work of him. The tiger followed the ripples of Mitchell swimming under the water to the ship's anchor, where the boy was already climbing the chain. Just when it seemed he would make it back up to the deck, both hands holding onto the railing and ready to haul him up, there was a hot searing pain in them, as if someone had dug red hot knives into them. Mitchell tilted his chin up to look at the pleased face of the tiger, its eyes almost taunting him.

"Long live the king, eh?" Mitchell said with a laugh as the tiger nodded its head and thrust him out and away from the boat to fall into the waters below, where the jellyfish and eels attacked him with renewed vigor. The tiger roared in triumph before returning to the battle, bounding across the large deck to come to Micheal's aid, and deciding to attack the girl dressed in pink. Yes, she would fill her belly for a couple of days, keep her hunger at bay until she was forced to hunt again. The silly girl didn't even know she was there, unaware that her life would soon end. She stalked closer, using a couple of barrels as cover before pouncing, claws outstretched and her teeth bared.

"Zelda! Behind you!" a voice yelled. The tiger then felt something smash into her, forcing her across the deck, keeping her from killing her prey. The big cat snarled and looked around. Where was her attacker? Was he invisible? Whatever he was, she could still smell him, ear his heavy breathing. It was as if he were right on top of her. And this proved to be correct when she felt a sharp tugging on her fur, causing her to yowl in pain and leap and run around on the deck, trying to buck off whatever was on top of her.

"Yee-HAW!" Alan cried as he rode rodeo on the tiger's back, pushing her towards the railing. His eyes danced with excitement when he saw Zelda looking his way, mouth agape as he tackled the six-hundred pound cat. Grunting, he yanked the fur to the left, the tiger following his commands and racing towards the railing and jumping into the air. Just before they both sailed over the edge, Alan jumped off and rolled to the deck, tucking in his arms and legs as the tiger fell to the water below, roaring in anger.

_**Confessional**_

"That was awesome!" Alan cried. He pumped a fist and danced around, laughing and whooping with joy. "I just wrestled with the biggest carnivore on the planet and won! In your face, Momma Nature!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Normally, I don't forgive people who annoy me so quickly," Zelda said with a sly smile. "I think I'll make an exception for Alan." she said before realizing something. "And I'm _**not **_falling for him! I can't love a guy who's such a pervert, but I can at least be friends with him."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

Caroline sucked in a deep breath and drew her daggers and charged at Reese, who squeaked and deflected the blow just before the daggers could be driven into her shoulder. Caroline was on the offensive as she tried repeatedly to stab him, Reese only just barely deflecting her lethal attacks. "Why does Chris make us fight all the time?" she whined as the loud action music played on. Reese shrugged his shoulders thrusting his dagger forward to only have it blocked by Caroline. "I dunno, but I suspect Micheal likes it, but not as much as he likes you." Reese said absentmindedly.

Caroline paused. "Wait what?" she asked as Reese rolled his wheelchair forward and hit her in the knees. She stumbled backwards, accidentally running into Alan, and both teens tilted over the railing and into the water below. Alan's cries of pain echoed across the deck. "Alan!" Zelda cried as she whacked Micheal over the head with her staff. She gave him another good whack before tossing her bo staff aside and diving over the side, the water churning as it was turned to foam. Moments later, a couple of dead jellyfish were thrown onto the deck, followed by a coughing Caroline and soaked Zelda with Alan over her shoulder. She threw him onto the deck and blocked an attack by Reese before picking him up, chair and all, and throwing him over the side, his panicked screams music to her ears.

"You saved me?" Alan coughed. Zelda nodded, a warm smile on her face. "Look, I know you like me and all, but I just can't love someone if all they want to see is my body. That's why I've decided to just be friends with you, but I will never be in love with you, perve." she told him.

"You're despicable." Alan said with a smile.

"Sticks and stones, luv. I saved your life, you saved mine. We're square."

"And _I'm _out of the challenge." Alan said with a pout.

"In that case . . ."Trey yelled before rushing forward and swinging his guitar, smacking Alan and Zelda in the face and sending them over the side. He turned to Caroline and growled, marching forward. Panicking, Caroline gave a low kick, sending Trey to the floor. Adrenaline as her fuel, she sprang up and grabbed hold of Trey's large frame, heaving him over her head and throwing him overboard, tossing him his bass guitar after a moments hesitation.

_**Confessional**_

"I don't think I've mentioned this before, but when it comes to lifting heavy objects, I suck. If it's a heavy animal, say a horse or a rhino, then it's pretty easy. And since Trey is a human, and humans are animals, throwing Trey overboard was a piece of cake!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Note to self: stay on Caroline's good side." Trey said as he rubbed vinegar on his giant jellyfish stings, hissing in pain as the liquid seeped over the electric eel bites.

_**End Confessional**_

Furious, Caroline turned to face Anuok, the only other member of the Rhinos other than Micheal still on board. Yelling she charged forward, only to suddenly fell as Anuok lashed out with her anchor chain, tripping her. Anuok pulled the anchor chain back, swinging the small anchor over her head like a lasso and giving Caroline a "come at me" gesture. Caroline growled and surged forward, her daggers raised high. Anuok merely yawned and sidestepped the attack, Caroline rushing past her and crashing into a couple of barrels. Caroline lay in the wreckage as Anuok crept closer, her usual calm and determined face turning into something more scary. Caroline reached around frantically for something to defend herself and came up with a stick. Not just any ordinary stick, but _Zelda's _stick.

Anuok swung with the chain, the anchor end ready to smash in Caroline's skull. Caorline lashed out with the bo staff, and the anchor suddenly wrapped around it several times, the sharp end catching on one of the chain loops and holding it tight. Caroline grinned mischievously as Anuok paled slightly. With a yell, Caroline yanked back on the staff, pulling Anuok forward and slamming the mute girl into her own skull. The blow didn't hurt her at all, but it dazed Anuok. While she was dizzy, Caroline gripped the staff tighter and yanked back again, pulling Anuok towards her and swinging her high into the air. Caroline's smile broadened as she twisted the staff so that Anuok was being swung around and around and around and around, like she was on some crazy carnival ride as she silently screamed.

Caroline then lowered the staff a little, still twisting so Anuok kept spinning. Her goal was to hopefully throw her over the side and keep her from landing on the wreckage of the _Geoff's Pride _or climbing the anchor of the _Bridgette's Beauty_. She accomplished both goals in less than a minute, but also did something she instantly regret. As she swung Anuok for the twentieth time, she swung closer and closer to a duel Maurananei until she slammed right into her, carrying her across the deck and over the side of the railing as she cursed and both girls fell. The anchor loosened and fell with them as Caroline rushed over to the railing to see a ticked and wet Maurananei climbing up the hull of the ship, using her nails like claws. "Sorry!" Caroline called down.

"Never mind that! Just help me up!" Maurananei snapped. Caroline sighed and reached over with the staff in hand. She just a couple inches away when her grip loosened and the metal staff fell, conking Maurananei on the head and sending her to the depths. Caroline watched in horror as she fell and a dull thud could be heard behind her. Her face completely pale, she turned to see the hulking, twelve foot frame of Micheal, two large swords in two of his hands and a wicked grin on his face. "Sorry, Caroline. I know we're friends and all, but I just can't let a victory go. You understand." he cackled as Caroline gulped in fear.

_**Confessional**_

"Yes, I've tussled with Micheal before. But that time, he deliberately threw the challenge for me!" Caroline cried with worry. "He's gonna skin me alive!" she yelped.

_**End Confessional**_

The two teens warily circled each other like a pair of hungry lions, Caroline quivering and shaking as Micheal's heavy footsteps thudded against the wooden deck. He had lowered his swords so that they would slowly scrape the deck, creating a sound that sent shivers down Caroline's spine. His second pair of arms were slowly and deliberately smacking against each other, acting like the hands of a clock counting the precious minutes someone had to live. And with a startled yell from Caroline, the final battle begun. With a strangled yell, Caroline rushed forward, counting on her hidden strength to win the battle. Micheal was also counting on his strength to win. But unlike Caroline, he had weapons. Sharp, deadly weapons that thirsted for blood like hungry wolves during a famine.

As Caroline rushed forward, Micheal roared and raised his fists, slamming them down on the deck and sending a shock wave through the boat that tore away at the upper deck, wooden pieces jutting up here and there as it traveled along to meet Caroline, knocking her off her feet. As soon as she was down, she was up on her feet again, running and dashing about like a mad rabbit in the hopes of confusing the Nisilaha as she ran towards him, ready to punch him in the face and push over the side.

It didn't work.

With a yell, Caroline used a piece of broken deck as a springboard, soaring through the air to punch and kick Micheal in the face, only to caught in one large hand that seemed to dwarf her entire body. "Nice try, sweet thing, but it ain't gonna work. Caroline was now shaking like a leaf in a storm. "You're not gonna hurt me are you?" she asked.

"Tell me, do you know anything about Davy Jones?" Micheal asked her.

Caroline shook her head.

"Then no, I'm not going to hurt you. _They _are." he said with a smile, gesturing towards the angry jellyfish and snapping eels that circled the boat, hungry for food. Micheal gently set Caroline down on the deck and was soon engulfed in a flash of red light, signaling his time out. "Don't worry. As soon as I've won the challenge I'll come rescue you." he said with a grin. He reached for the Animatrix, and cycled through the list, Caroline watching with a worried look. She was so paralyzed with fear she couldn't move, not even to strike her opponent at his weakest.

_**THUMP.**_

"Did you hear something?" Micheal asked, his eyes never wavering from the Animatrix.

_**THUMP.**_

"Okay, seriously. What is that noise?" Micheal asked looking up. A loud squelching sound could be heard from the left side of the ship where both Caroline and Micheal were, a low moaning accompanying the sickening sound as the boat suddenly jerked to the left side and righted itself. Something was climbing on board. "Didn't I get rid of the rest of your team mates?" Micheal asked Caroline, whose face had gone from panic mode to slightly less afraid. She knew what the sound was. How whatever was making that sound ended up like this was beyond her, but she at least knew it would be friendly. To her anyway.

"Say hello to a little friend of mine." Caroline said with a smile as a massive mound of twisted body parts landed on the deck. Micheal jerked back in surprise as the pile of fleshy drew up to its full height and let out a roar that blew off his captain's hat. Micheal stumbled backward and fell against the mast, the activation button on his Animatrix getting pressed as it did. "Oh, that can't be good." he said with worry as the red light engulfed him. Caroline gasped as Micheal transformed, the watch flawlessly doing its work until it was done, changing the normal teenage boy into a gigantic animal, revealing to be an incredibly large _Brachiosaurus_.

The animal was over forty feet tall, and almost eighty five feet in length. It looked as if it weighed over thirty tons, and could crush even the biggest of today's land animals under its large feet. Th dinosaur gave a single roar before a loud cracking sound filled the air, the sound of splintering wood following it.

"I'm beginning to hate the watch of yours." was all Caroline managed to say before the entire pirate ship broke in two, sinking beneath the waves. For the briefest of seconds all three of them, Micheal, Caroline, and Kiko hovered there, before plunging down toward the water. Caroline screamed when she suddenly felt something slimy attached itself to her and pull back on itself. Caroline was yanked toward the messy pile of body parts and was then flung up towards the head of the _Brachiosaurus_, just before they all sank beneath the waves. Of course, being one of the largest animals in the history of the world, the water only came up to Micheal's massive sides and chest. Kiko sank beneath the waves, swimming towards the shore where two blonde smiled and waved.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced. The dinosaur looked confused before Chris pointed up. Following his direction with his eyes, Micheal soon found a shivering Caroline clinging tightly to his skull. The animal roared, but admitted defeat as he lumbered to the shore, the lake water slapping at his sides as he moved through the lake and up to the shore, completely dwarfing everyone there as his footsteps shook the earth.

* * *

"You've all cast your votes tonight," Chris began with his usual campfire drawl. "If I throw you a marshmallow, you're safe. And if you don't get one-"

"You will voted off the island, fired out of the Torpedo of Shame, and you can't come back ever, blah, blah, blah, blabitty-blah. Get on with it." a disgruntled Micheal growled. Chris glared at him, but reached for a marshmallow anyways.

"Reese." The small boy cheered and caught his marshmallow, coughing up a little bit of water as he did. As no one was able to catch him right away, he had sunk to the bottom of the lake, and had stayed down there for the better part of the challenge until Anuok came to his rescue and gave him CPR.

"Trey." The wet musician, still dressed in pirate uniform, caught his marshmallow in one hand and shoved it into his mouth, chewing slowly. In truth, he was barely paying attention, his mind wandering back to that dream he had had earlier. What did it mean? And why did he like the girl in his dream so much? It reminded him of someone, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Toni." Chris said, tossing the marshmallow to the ground. Toni growled and pounced on it like a cat, grabbing it in her teeth and shaking her head from side to side until she tore a piece of it off, snapping it off in her jaws and swallowing it with a savage smile on her face as everyone starred at her.

"Um, Anuok." Chris said with a slightly scared voice. The silent girl caught the delicious treat in her hands and popped it in her mouth, smiling at Reese. One marshmallow left on the plate, and two campers left.

"Mortisha! You decided playing with toxic jellyfish and electric eels would be more fun than helping your team win the challenge. Pretty good reason to boot you off." Chris said as Mortisha sulked. She had enjoyed the event very much, not even minding that the electric eels had stopped and started her heart several times before she was dragged to shore. And now she might be going home just because she was trying to have fun.

"Micheal! You came, you saw, and kicked butt easily. But sadly, your aggression got the best of you and you sank the only ship keeping you dry Plus the fact that you _**DESTROYED MY COTTAGE**_ is good reason to send you packing." Chris said angrily.

"It was a freakin' mansion!" Micheal argued. "You don't call something that big a 'cottage'!"

Chris rolled his eyes and picked the marshmallow up in two fingers. One camper was staying, and one was going. Personally, he didn't care which one it was. If he had to choose, well . . .

_**Confessional**_

"I'll admit, I probably went a little too far when battling Caroline," Micheal said with a heavy sigh. "That's all I'm saying. Might as well end on a good note before I go home."

_**End Confessional**_

"Just give Mortisha the stupid marshmallow already," Micheal sighed. "We all know I'm probably going home."

Chris smiled his famous grin. "That's what you think!" he said, tossing Micheal the marshmallow. The teen was so shocked, the juicy treat just fell to the ground, where a hungry Toni quickly devoured it in a way similar to a crocodile, death roll and all. "Say what? Why are you sending her home? All she did was take a dive! I sunk a ship, blew our chances at winning, and destroyed Chris's freakin' cottage!"

"Mansion!" Chris corrected.

"WHATEVER!" Micheal roared. "Why the heck am I not being stuffed into a torpedo capsule right now?" His team mates shrugged, looking between themselves for answers.

"I dunno. Probably because we need you." Toni said with a shrug.

"Plus, that watch of yours is simply awesome!" Reese laughed. Micheal rolled his eyes before turning to Mortisha. "Hey, um. I dunno, uh. Good luck?" he said, sticking out a hand for the creepy girl to shake. Mortisha starred at it, and Micheal was worried he somehow offended her when she suddenly pulled him into a hug. Caught off guard, Micheal stood there for few seconds before hugging her back, gesturing for the rest of the team to come in. The others shared a shrug and joined them, Mortisha finally feeling complete inside. "You not have had any friends when you got here, but you have at least five when you leave." Micheal told her. "Either way, you're still scary."

Mortisha laughed. "Eh, I'll take what I can get. You guys at the finale!" she laughed before breaking free of the group and running full speed to the docks, a disgruntled Chef minutes behind her. A couple seconds later, the submarine fired, the capsule exploding about a mile away. Chef just stood on the docks with a shocked look on his face before shaking his head and walking off back to his trailer to catch some sleep.

* * *

"I told you, it wasn't finished yet!" Zelda yelled, berating the hulking beast before her as she worked feverishly on the watch that stuck fast between Kiko's eyes. She stood firmly on Kiko's large claw, hoisted up in the air by a couple feet so she could work while the others were partying in the Hangout of Awesomeness once more. "Wheeeeet 'appenen?" Kiko asked, her vocal cords barely working.

Zelda shrugged as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I don't know exactly what you call it, but because the watch wasn't complete, the selection feature wasn't fully operational. When you selected the _Ursus arctos horribilius, _you accidentally switched to the next organism, an _Enteroctopus dofleini_, you accidentally caused the animal's DNA to become infused with yours, creating your first form. How all the other parts that you currently control came to be is beyond me. On the bright side, the effect is reversible. I just need to . . . . there!" Zelda said with satisfaction. She then raised a fist and punched the watch face with all her might before jumping back. A loud beeping sound echoed through the cave before a bright flash of purple light engulfed Kiko. The fins and gills suddenly vanished, as if they had never been there. The layer of fish scales simply fell off, like a shed skin. The jointed crab legs sucked themselves back into Kiko's hips with a sickening slurping sound as the tip of the tentacle split into five bent rods. The crab claw shrank and simply vanished into thin air as the anemone tentacles on her head became locks of human hair. She could now see in color again and see better in general. The slimy tail was sucked back into her spine as the shark fins faded into her back. The turtle shell softened and returned back to human skin that was quickly covered by cloth. The glowing antennae was slurped back into her skull as teeth became normal once more and every last barnacle fell off. She was human once more.

Kiko sat on her knees in the mouth of the cave, breathing heavily as the watch on her wrist glowed purple, awaiting its next command. She didn't move as Zelda knelt down and tapped a hidden button, and the watch suddenly let go of Kiko's wrist. "I would suggest hiding that in a better place." Kiko said as she rubbed her wrist.

"Is that the closest thing I'll ever get to an apology?" Zelda asked.

"Yep."

"Consider it done.

* * *

Caroline sighed as she shoveled in the last of the fresh straw. The stables were finally clean, every last piece of manure gone, and the stalls refilled with fresh hay. She sucked in a deep breath and rested on her pitch fork as the horses came wandering back in, each to their own stall after a day outside. It seemed to have done them some good anyways. They all ready looked bigger and more filled than before. And they had of course, been friendly and actually listened when she told them about Micheal, everything from the him saving her from the rock slide to his sudden hatred towards her. The horses thought he was a jerk.

"Can we talk?"

Caroline turned to see a nervous Micheal at the entrance to stables. The watch on his wrist was turned black, apparently in recharge mode. Before she could say anything, two horses leaped in front of her, rearing onto their hind legs and kicking out with their sharp hooves. Micheal backed away as Caroline sighed. "Roger, James, calm down. His Animatrix is in recharge mode. He couldn't hurt me if he wanted to. Besides, I've got a weapon and he doesn't." she said, gesturing towards the pitch fork. The horses gave a questioning look, but clopped into their separate stalls, Caroline closing the doors behind them. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked as she sat down on a bale of hay, exhausted from the night's work.

Micheal sighed and sat down on a bale of hay opposite of her. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier. About my actions and the way I treated you so to speak."

"Go on."

Micheal sighed again and continued on. "I don't know what came over me. It just sort of happened."

"Reese said that you liked me." Caroline suddenly said, causing Micheal to fall off his bale of hay and onto the floor, which smelled distinctly of manure. The horses whined with delight before Caroline through them a look, instantly quieting them down. "He said what?" Micheal asked.

"That you liked me. Is that true?" Caroline asked, her face showing no emotion. Inside, she was panicking, not sure of how to act or talk. She was surprised she was keeping cool under such conditions, and was near the breaking point, but she kept her cool and the pitch fork trained on Micheal. "Um, I guess?" Micheal tried, only to have the butt of the pitchfork slam into his side, knocking the wind out of him. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Caroline asked.

"Yes! Yes, I like you! I like you! Just don't hit me with that thing again!" Micheal yelled as he managed to let air back into his lungs. He stood up on shaky feet, towering over Caroline, even as she stood up to her full height. "That's all I needed to know." she said with a smile before lunging forward and tackling Micheal to the ground and taking him by surprise. Micheal cried out, but his lips were so covered by hers, locked in kiss. Micheal quit struggling and pulled Caroline further into the kiss. The small girl was practically giddy with joy, everything over her entire lifetime ebbing away in that kiss, all the pain and misery the world have given her. And now, she had found a second spec of hope in the endless sea of tragedy. And she knew she wouldn't sink anytime soon.

* * *

"And thus concludes another episode!" Chris announced with his trade mark grin. "Will Kiko listen to Zelda more often? Will Caroline and Micheal remain a couple? Will Trey lose his sanity? And can my teeth possibly get any whiter?" Chris asked. "All of these and more, probably won't be answered next time! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris cried, a slurping sound distracting him. He turned to see Bridgette and Geoff making out on one of the campfire logs, oblivious to Chris even being there. "Ugh. Get a room, will ya?" Chris sighed as he averted his eyes.

**And . . . . . . done! Finally! I swear, I rewrote this thing at least three times before I got this done. FYI, I borrowed some quotes from _Pirates of the Caribbean _if anyone noticed. I'm also putting this out, stating that I own nothing related to the Pirates at all. And thus concludes by longest chapter as well! Huh. Anyways, be sure to leave a comment in the reviews, or PM if you have complaints, ideas, requests, or suggestions for next time. And don't forget to check out your OC on Deviantart! The directions are at the start of the chapter if you didn't look before.**

**Oh! One more thing! I've been thinking about doing an Aftermath for this season! I wasn't sure if I should go with it or not, so I'm leaving that up to you guys! Geoff and Bridgette will of course still be hosting, but who knows what could happen? Let me know what you think, and I will have the _hauntingly _awesome chapter up next month!**

**Hasta Luego!**


End file.
